Global Missionary Organization of the Jesuits

Timeline

1. 1556–1581Rome · ItalyAfter the death of Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuits established a three-tier command chain of superior general—provincial superior—residence, dividing the world into mission provinces such as India, Brazil, and Japan, with the Roman generalate centrally allocating personnel, funds, and policy, laying the organizational groundwork for global expansion in the 1580s.
2. 1581–1590East Asian mission province · ChinaIn the 1580s the Jesuits in Japan experienced alternating prosperity and restrictions under the Toyotomi regime, while scholar-missionaries such as Matteo Ricci began tentative preaching inland in China, adopting an 'accommodation' strategy of language study, scientific instruments, and elite contacts; East Asia became a key growth pole of the society's global network.
3. 1583–1590American and Indian mission provinces · IndiaIn the 1580s the Jesuits established the reduction settlement model in Paraguay, extended preaching from the Goa hub in India toward the Malabar coast and Mughal frontier, and cooperated with Spanish and Portuguese colonial administrations, forming a global mission machine with intercontinental personnel rotation and financial support.