The Vatican's Jesuit moment: At the cutting edge

WHETHER you admire them or fear them, the Jesuits have a great mystique. Now that a pope has emerged from the Society of Jesus, for the first time in its five centuries of history, fascination with them is bound to grow. We can all expect to hear a lot of good and bad things about the Jesuits in the days and weeks to come.

So what can be said about them for certain? They are the largest religious order within the Catholic church, with about 18,000 members, of whom 12,000 or so have undergone a long and rigorous training (at least eight years) to become priests. Since its foundation in 1540, by Ignatius of Loyola, and six of his fellow students at the university of Paris, the Society of Jesus has had a reputation for brains, energy and independence.