section_path: Catholic reform/New Orders
section_name: New Orders
paragraph_text: New Orders
  
  The spread of new monastic orders was an important element of the Catholic reform movement. Most new orders placed great value on pastoral care. Among them, the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits) became the most influential. Its founder Ignatius of Loyola (d. 1556) was born to a Basque noble family. He chose a military career but abandoned it after being wounded during a siege. He started to write a devotional guide, the Spiritual Exercises, during his ascetic retreat at a cave. His mysticism arouse the Spanish Inquisition's suspicion but the Spirituali supported him. Paul III sanctioned the establishment of the Jesuits on Contarini's influence in 1540. The new order quickly developed: when Loyola died, the Society had about 1,000 members; in less than a decade, it numbered around 3,500. The maintenance of a well organised schooling system was the Jesuits' most prominent feature. Their Roman collegium prepared future priests to discuss and reject Protestant theologies primarily in Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary.