Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus (Latin: "Societas Iesu", "S.J." and "S.I." or "SJ", "SI" ) is a Roman Catholic Church religious order whose members are called Jesuits, "Soldiers of Christ", and "Foot soldiers of the Pope", because the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a knight before becoming a priest.
Jesuits are the largest male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church with 19,216 members (13,491 priests, 3,049 scholastic students, 1,810 brothers and 866 novices).
The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of the Madonna Della Strada. It is led by a Superior General, currently Arturo Sosa.
The headquarters of the society, its General Curia, is in Rome.
Within the Catholic Church, there has been a sometimes tense relationship between Jesuits and the Vatican. This is due to questioning of official Church teaching and papal directives, such as those on abortion, birth control, women deacons, homosexuality, and liberation theology.
However, as of 2013, the current Pope, Pope Francis, is a Jesuit himself.