Jesuits on the go
As is very well known, from the start of its existence, the Society of Jesus devoted significant efforts to missionary activity. The indipetae (IAJS Digital Indipetae Database)--the letters which Jesuits used to send to the Superior General to apply for extra-European missions--three of the most common destinations were China, Japan, India, and the Americas, where the Society established long-lasting missions.
The Society of Jesus and the Sublime Porte
What about the Ottoman Empire (1300 to 1923), the presence of which became politically, military, and culturally relevant in Europe as early as the 14th century? Was it common among the young Jesuit candidates to choose the lands of the Ottoman Sultan as a preferred destination?
In fact, it was not: Ottoman countries ended up being less popular and less fortunate, as the “Islamic area has always been rather marginal in the horizon of the society” and the missions established there were often unsuccessful (Colombo 2014, 180).
That was the case, for instance, with the first Jesuit mission established in Istanbul. That endeavour lasted less than three years, from 1583 to 1585. The founder of the mission, however, surprisingly declared himself eager to serve “among the Turks” and would return even after the failure of the mission. He would, after less than 6 years returned to the Ottoman lands to ransom a group of enslaved Christians kept in Algiers: his name was Giulio Mancinelli.
Notes
- Title image: Mappa peregrinatio Patris Iulii Mancinelli, ARSI, Grandi Formati, Cassetto 5, Mancinelli, n. 68. Image courtesy of ARSI, © Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu