Another reason for the importance of the Jesuits in the Catholic Reformation is their worldwide missions which allowed Catholicism to be spread all over the world. Francis Xavier was one of the most successful missionaries; he travelled from Europe to India in 1542 where he preached to the Portuguese settlers in Goa about their Christian duties, convincing many to follow in his own footsteps, he also travelled to Japan in 1549 where he founded a church. Although Xavier himself was successful in converting people to Catholicism, the main success in his actions were the “epic tales” of his successes in Asia which travelled back to Europe, convincing thousands over the next two centuries to travel like him, to Japan, Spain, South America, Germany and Japan, resulting in thousands of conversions. Jesuit missions were also important in Europe; those who lives in rural areas of Italy, Spain and France were taught simple prayers and hymns, ensuring the involvement of as many people as possible in the Catholic Reformation
Loyola’s “Spiritual Exercises” were also important to the Catholic Reformation, they made the Jesuits much more powerful; the “Spiritual Exercises” were a manual which described exercises in prayer and concentrated thought, through which a clear understanding of faith could be achieved. The key result of this was that missionaries could convince people to convert to Catholicism on the basis that they could come close to salvation simply through following the exercises listed in Loyola’s book, something which would seem quite attractive towards non-Catholics, and helping to fuel the Catholic Reformation.
However, it is important to note that other orders and events were also essential within the Catholic Reformation, and that Jesuit missions were not wholly successful – there was no guarantee that those who were converted would remain Catholic, or even Christian.
The Council of Trent which lasted from 1545-63 was also particularly important in the Catholic Reformation. The Council of Trent established several decrees on doctrine, including that authority lay equally in the Bible and in the traditions of the Church, the Church alone and the power of interpret the Scripture, the existence of seven core sacraments, and that the traditional Catholic version of the Mass was correct. Therefore clear theological differences were established between Catholicism and Protestantism, allowing the Catholic position to be more easily defended. Organisational issues were also made at Trent, such as establishing that bishops who were absent from their diocese for more than 6 months would be punished, and that training college must be established by every bishop in their diocese. These measures were an attempt to tackle the widespread abuses within the Church which had been a key criticism from Protestants. They also increased the importance of bishops and well-trained priests. These measures were key in the Catholic Reformation as they showed a willingness to make improvements within the Catholic Church.
Both the Spanish Roman and Inquisition also played a key role in the Catholic Reformation. Although the Spanish Inquisition began in 1478 targeting Jews and Muslims, in the 1540s it turned to Protestants and between 1540 and 1700 it sentenced 50,000 suspects, particularly focusing on Lutherans. Those who were caught practicing any form of Protestantism would face various punitive measures including flogging and death by fire. An index of banned books was also created insuring that books that encouraged practicing anything other than Catholicism were suppressed as much as possible. The Roman Inquisition aimed to centralise the power papal authority and establish courts all over Catholic Europe so that Protestantism could be suppressed and denounced by a single authority. There were 100 executions by the Roman Inquisition between 1542 and 1761, which is a relatively low number compared to the Spanish Inquisition, however, punishments were “generally lenient” with the aim of brining the guilt back to Catholicism. The main work of the Roman Inquisition was done under Paul IV, he issued the Roman Index of prohibited books which included books by Erasmus, Machiavelli and all translations of vernacular Bibles – 550 authors were listed in total being described as “heretics”. The effect of this was prove a fear within society to even have Protestant thoughts, and hence the Inquisitions were an essential part of the Catholic Reformation, suppressing Catholic thought throughout Europe.