<P> They were ordained in Venice by the bishop of Arbe (24 June). They devoted themselves to preaching and charitable work in Italy . The Italian War of 1535 - 1538 renewed between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Venice, the Pope, and the Ottoman Empire, had rendered any journey to Jerusalem impossible . </P> <P> Again in 1540, they presented the project to Paul III . After months of dispute, a congregation of cardinals reported favourably upon the Constitution presented, and Paul III confirmed the order through the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae ("To the Government of the Church Militant"), on 27 September 1540 . This is the founding document of the Society of Jesus as an official Catholic religious order . Ignatius was chosen as the first Superior General . Paul III's bull had limited the number of its members to sixty . This limitation was removed through the bull Exposcit debitum of Julius III in 1550 . </P> <P> In fulfilling the mission of the "Formula of the Institute of the Society", the first Jesuits concentrated on a few key activities . First, they founded schools throughout Europe . Jesuit teachers were trained in both classical studies and theology, and their schools reflected this . Second, they sent out missionaries across the globe to evangelize those peoples who had not yet heard the Gospel, founding missions in widely diverse regions such as modern - day Paraguay, Japan, Ontario, and Ethiopia . One of the original seven arrived in India already in 1541 . Finally, though not initially formed for the purpose, they aimed to stop Protestantism from spreading and to preserve communion with Rome and the successor of Saint Peter . The zeal of the Jesuits overcame the movement toward Protestantism in the Polish--Lithuanian Commonwealth and southern Germany . </P> <P> Ignatius wrote the Jesuit Constitutions, adopted in 1553, which created a centralised organization and stressed acceptance of any mission to which the Pope might call them . His main principle became the unofficial Jesuit motto: Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam ("For the greater glory of God"). This phrase is designed to reflect the idea that any work that is not evil can be meritorious for the spiritual life if it is performed with this intention, even things normally considered of little importance . </P>

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