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Another Ignatian History: Including Women In The Story Of Jesuit Mission, Julia A. Dowd

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Orientation programs at Jesuit universities often include a review of the life of Ignatius. What is missing from the official history of Ignatius are the stories of the women with whom he lived and worked who contributed financially, politically, and emotionally to Ignatius’ formation and that of the early Jesuits. What is also missing is a critical feminist analysis of the historical context out of which Ignatius, the Spiritual Exercises and the Society of Jesus were born. In this article, I argue that women provided essential scaffolding to bolster Ignatius’ identity and vocation, and likewise to contribute to the early …