The Jesuits are men who belong to a Catholic religious order called the Society of Jesus. This group was founded by St Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish nobleman, in 1540. 

Jesuit priests and brothers serve God and His Church in a variety of ways including missionary activities and working in parishes, seminaries, schools, and universities.  Jesuits also collaborate with lay men and women who share this vision of service to faith and to the justice that faith demands.

The Society of Jesus first came to Australia in 1848, when two Jesuits from the Austrian Province arrived at Port Adelaide, South Australia.  In 1865 Jesuits from the Irish Province were invited to Melbourne, Victoria by Bishop Goold to serve in St Patrick’s College in East Melbourne. Richmond Catholic Parish, a parish established in 1853, was entrusted to the care of the Jesuits in 1866.

More information: jesuit.org.au

Dearest Lord,
teach me to be generous:
teach me to serve you as you deserve:
to give, and not to count the cost,
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labour, and not to ask reward,
excepting that of knowing that
I do your holy will.

Image Credit: St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), Founder of the Jesuits, Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain]