Accounting and control rules at the Society of Jesus - 1646 to 2005

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Accounting and control rules at the Society of Jesus - 1646 to 2005

João Oliveira, University of Porto

Martin Quinn, Dublin City University
Alicia Santidrian, University of Burgos

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Abstract

Our paper aims to study the evolution of internal accounting and control rules that have been in
force at the Society of Jesus since the middle of the 17th century to the present day. In particular,
we have examined five books of “Instructions on Temporal Administration”/ “Instructions of the
Administration of Goods” from 1646, 1894, 1935, 1979 and 2005. The rules are described related
to events within and outside the Society of Jesus. A careful reading of these texts reveals the effort
made by the Jesuits to draw up organization-wide guidelines on how to act in relation to all the
economic issues that are linked to the financial administration of this religious order, with religious
considerations not only being the pervading, underlying base for the instructions but also at times
being closely integrated with financial administration itself. We present examples where financial
administration and policies are framed within Jesuits’ religious goals and principles, including the
vow of poverty, and detailed examples of processes in which the sacred and the secular are jointly
managed, suggesting a sacred-secular integration, rather than a sacred-secular divide.

By studying the evolution of rules at a single religious organisation, we are moving the focus
somewhat away from the more prevalent macro/societal level analyses and towards a more micro-
level view, in line with Cordery’s (2015) recommendation. Indeed, our work may be located at a
meso-level, since we are also providing a useful basis for micro-level studies at particular sites
within the Society, across time and space. Considering this organization-wide normative and
guiding formal framework is useful to make sense, interpret and orient research of local practices
in specific sites.

Keywords: Jesuits, accounting rules, financial management, sacred-secular divide, sacred-

secular integration

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Introduction
Religious organisations have been studied by many scholars, including by management (see for
example, Miller 2006) and accounting history scholars. An extensive review of contributions on
the theme of religion in accounting literature undertaken by Cordery (2015) noted a total of 90
articles over three decades. Two prevalent themes contained within this research were
accountability and the sacred-secular divide. However, as Cordery (2015, 23) suggests many of
extant studies are focused on macro perspectives (see our literature review later), and while a trend
is emerging, more studies on micro-type issues are to be welcomed. Taking this a step further,
Cordery (2015) cites only a handful of studies which detail management/internal accounting at
religious organisations.

This study is a response to Cordery’s call and specifically, this paper details the evolution of
internal accounting rules over time at the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits as they are more
commonly known (a term we adopt hereafter). By studying the evolution of rules at a single
religious organisation, we are moving the focus somewhat away from the macro/societal level. At
the same time we are also providing a useful basis for micro-level studies at particular sites within
the Society, across time and space. Considering this organization-wide normative and guiding
formal framework is useful to make sense, interpret and orient research of local practices in
specific sites. For example, it enables to distinguish between practices emerging from these global
instructions, practices diverging from them, or practices representing a ‘localisation’ of those
instructions, when local actors adapt those organization-wide rules to suit their local context (e.g.
Cruz et al., 2011) – indeed, a possibility which some instructions explicitly raise. In addition, this
analysis enables researching the issue of the sacred-secular divide, a topic which has attracted
significant attention. Indeed, considering organization-wide rules is useful not only to study
whether and how this divide exists within the Society, but also between the Society of Jesus and
the society at large - for example, Jesuit rules may or may not be similar to societal rules at a point
in time.

The focus of this paper is analysing written, formal, organization-wide instructions on financial
matters, defining principles, goals, constraints, relations, controls and procedures. It includes
instructions about finance, accounting and control (both internal and external), and also about
‘operational’ aspects which have some kind of relationship with these topics – ranging from the
construction of buildings to ‘strictly religious processes’ (for example, the distribution of masses
to be celebrated). As formal rules setting orientations and control mechanisms, they are part of the
administrative control system (Malmi and Brown, 2008). The influence of religious principles is
also embedded in these formal instructions, and it may be expected to play a particularly salient
role among the members of this organization. Therefore, cultural controls (Malmi and Brown,
2008) are also involved through two mechanisms: the formal controls and self-control; however,
our focus in this paper is the formal, administrative control based upon the five analysed
Instructions.

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The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. The next section provides a review of some
extant literature from both accounting history and contemporary accounting sources. This is
followed by brief history of the Jesuits and our research methods, which includes our theoretical
framing. We then describe the accounting rules adopted by Jesuits over time, from the 17th century
to the present day. The rules are described across three distinct time periods and related to events
within and without the Jesuit society, drawing on our theoretical framing. The paper concludes
with some suggestions for future research and notes some limitations of our research.

Literature on accounting and religion

The extant accounting and business history literature on religious organisations is surprisingly not
extensive, and we now summarise the extant literature, and later in our methods section we briefly
summarise literature on the concept of rules.

In the past decade or so, a relatively small number of studies with a religious focus have been
published in the three main accounting history journals1. We now summarise these
chronologically. A 2006 special issue of Accounting History offers seven papers on “Accounting
and Religion”. A paper by Baker (2006) explores discourses on the wealth of Abraham in the Old
and New Testament, and in particular how the discourse changed. The analysis reveals that in the
Old Testament, “Abraham’s wealth was praised because it was derived from God” (Baker, 2006,
165) while in the New Testament “the only way to enter heaven is through rejection of wealth”
(ibid). Carmona and Ezzamel (2006) provide a useful overview of the extant literature on
accounting and religion at the time. Some words from their abstract summarises the paper well:

The lack of academic interest in studying accounting in religious institutions is rather

perplexing, given the prominence of such institutions in most historical and contemporary
societies, both spiritually and economically (Carmona and Ezzamel, 2006, 117)

Cordery (2006) describes accounting in the Wesleyan Methodist mission to New Zealand. The
mission dates to the 1820s, and given cultural differences, Cordery suggests early missionaries
may have been more likely to focus on sacred matters and beliefs than on secular things like
accounting and stewardship. However, the analysis of letters of missionaries reveals accounts of
expenditure and regular lists of inventories. Espejo et al. (2006) recount how Spanish brotherhoods
did not comply well with the requirements of a census conducted by the civil authorities in 1769
to establish, amongst other things, their financial status. The responses were not complete or
consistent. In 1783, a law to regulate the brotherhoods was passed, but strangely as Espejo et al.
(2006) note, it did not “prescribe any process of accountability for the brotherhoods” (2006, 144).

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Accounting History, Accounting History Review and Accounting Historians Journal.

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Finally in the Accounting History special issue, Prieto et al. (2006) report in detail on accounting
in a Spanish monastery, noting that although the accounting methods used were common at the
time, how “the specific characteristics of the sophisticated method used by the Benedictine monks
served both accountability and decision-making purposes” (ibid, 242).

With the possible exception of Prieto et al. (2006), all the above mentioned studies are at a more
macro level, and provide little evidence in how and why accounting was practiced by religious
organisations. This pattern continues with studies like those of Dobie (2008) and Derks (2008),
but Dobie (2008a) does provide some detail of accounting at Durham Cathedral Priory. More
recent studies such as Gatti and Poli (2014) (on accounting and the papal states) and Leardini and
Rossi (2013) (on power and accounting) maintain the more macro focus. Outside the accounting
history literature, there are some religious-focused studies in the general accounting and business
literature. Booth (1993), similar to Laughlin (1988), noted a dearth of research on accounting in
churches and religious organisations and suggested a research agenda which should be followed
using what he termed “incomplete theorisations” (1993, 60) to build up comparative research over
time. A key theme emerging from these two papers is a sacred secular divide, with both authors
contesting that accounting as a secular practice may not align to religious values. This theme is
echoed in more recent contemporary works such as Jacobs (2005), Bigoni et al. (2013) and Banos
Sanchez-Matamoros and Funnell (2015), but these works suggest that accounting and spirituality
are more aligned that previously suggested. Some other contemporary literature studies links and
compares modern-day management practices to those of religious orders over the centuries to seek
out lessons for contemporary business (see for example, Feldbauer-Durstmüller et al. 2012, Hiebl
and Feldbauer-Durstmüller 2014, Rost et al. 2010). The logic to such literature is that something
can be learned from organisations that have survived for centuries. In the context of this study,
Hiebl and Feldbauer-Durstmüller (2014) could be viewed as a more micro-level study, as it details
the role of a cellarer in a Benedictine Abbey and compares this to a modern-day CFP role.

Some Jesuit-specific research is also found in the general accounting and business literature. Work
has been undertaken by Paulo Quattrone, primarily from a more macro viewpoint. His 2004 paper
provides an extensive and rich view of the Jesuit organisation, and while detailing some elements
of accounting and accountability practices, its focus is primarily the influence of non-economic
arguments on the development of these practices e.g. “an absolutist ideology of the Roman
Catholic doctrine during the Counter-Reformation” (Quattrone, 2004, 674). He does mention the
Instructio pro admistratione rerum temporalium collegiorum ac domorum probationis Societatis
Jesu, a book we refer to later, but does not explore or discuss it in great detail. This Instructio
according to Quattrone (2004, 665):

ruled the relationships among the Provincial, the Rectors of the various colleges and the
Procurators of the colleges. These rules, in brief, concerned what today would be described
as management control and auditing.

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Quattrone (2009) does not specifically focus on accounting or control within the Jesuits, rather
explores a treatise “Trattato del libro doppio domestico col suo essemplare, by the Jesuit Lodovico
Flori”. By examining this and another early accounting treatise, he offers insights on how
accounting can be spread through society aided by visual presentation, praxis, communication
medium and organisation. Quattrone (2015) extends these two prior works into the realm of
institutional logics2. He concludes that the logics of the Jesuit organisation, was not “anchored
permanently in a substantive logic” (ibid., 411) in that while there were centralised administrative
procedures, the local Jesuit communities and missions were flexible to their context.

This brief review of literature, we would argue, has a common theme in that it is primarily focused
on the societal or macro role of accounting within a religious context. This is reflective of
Cordery’s (2015) call for more studies of internal accounting practices of religious institutions and
orders. Interestingly Cordery’s call is almost a decade after Carmona and Ezzamel’s (2006)
comment that research on the interactions of accounting and religion was sparse. While some
research has since been added, as outlined above, it is probably quite fair to say research is still
sparse. We hope this study will add somewhat to overcome this.

Background and method

To set the context for this study, this section provides a history of the Jesuits and details the
methods we adopted. The history of the Jesuits is long, detailed and may be told from many views.
Thus, for this paper we merely provide a brief account focussing on major events in the Society's’
history. For this we draw mainly on the work on John W. O’Malley SJ, a renowned Jesuit historian
and author. While O’Malley has written many volumes, a summary narrative written in 2014 titled
The Jesuits: A History from Ignatius to the Present has been particularly useful here. Unless noted
otherwise, this is the source of information in the following paragraphs.

Brief history
The Jesuits trace their origins to a man from the Basque region of Spain, namely Ignatius of
Loyola. Ignatius was born in 1491 and in 1509 took up arms with the Duke of Nájera. In 1521, he
was injured at the Battle of Pamplona and so began his journey to a religious life. In 1528, he
moved to Paris to study, first at the College de Montaigu, and a year later to College Sainte-Barbe.
While at Sainte-Barbe, he formed friendships with six others. In 1534, these friends vowed to
travel to the Holy Land but passage was not possible. On August 15th, 1534 they offered
themselves to the Pope for any ministries he thought best. By spring of 1539, the group of friends
was now ten in number and they decided to form a new order and submitted a founding document
(the Formula) to the Holy See for approval. On September 27th 1540, the Society of Jesus came
into existence with the publication of approval for the order by Pope Paul III. Ignatius was elected

2
Thornton and Ocasio (1998, 804) define institutional logics as “the socially constructed, historical patterns of
material practices, assumptions, values, beliefs, and rules by which individuals produce and reproduce their material
subsistence, organize time and space”.

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the first Superior General the following year, which he held until his death in 1556. The Formula
envisaged the Society “as engaging primarily in [...] ministries of preaching and hearing
confessions” and these were “itinerant and without geographical limits” (O’Malley 2014, 4) - in
essence a missionary order.

According to O’Malley (2014), the Jesuits distinguish themselves from other orders of the time in
a number of ways, making them suspect in the eyes of contemporaries. They did not wear a
religious habit, retained their family names, elected the Superior General for life and did not recite
matins and vespers - the latter being an almost defining characteristic of an order at the time.
Another new undertaking by the Jesuits was a decision by Ignatius to staff and manage schools for
young laymen. They grew rapidly and by the time Ignatius died in 1556, the Jesuits had more than
30 schools in operation. As noted by O’Malley (2014, 14) “schools ate up money [...], they were
perpetually in debt and drove the Jesuits into undertaking a most mundane occupation, money
raising”. He further notes that “in time the Jesuits took steps to ensure adequate resources for
prospective schools” (ibid, 24), suggest some form of financial management became entwined
within the order. The First General Congregation (GC) - the GC is the supreme governing body of
the Society of Jesus - took place in 1558, two years after the death of Ignatius. Part of the work
undertaken by the First GC was to examine and approve the Constitutions - the spiritual
foundations of the Society as written by Ignatius. As we will reveal later, matters of accounting
and finance were regularly discussed at the 36 GCs up to and including 20163.

The Jesuits continued to grow, but was to face what O’Malley (2014) describes as a calamity in
1773. In 1769, Pope Clement XIV was elected and four years later he abolished the Society. The
reasons are complex, but briefly the combination of the stabbing of Louis XV by a Jesuit pupil and
financial risk-taking by Antoine Lavalette, the Superior General in Martinique gave anti-Jesuits
reason to seek action. By 1764, Louis XV had suppressed the Society in France, with Spain
following suit in 1767 and then the Kingdom of Naples and Duchy of Parma in Italy. At this time
Pope Clement XIII supported the Jesuits, but according to O’Malley (2014), his successor (Pope
Clement XIV) showed readiness to suppress the order to support his election. The Jesuits were
suppressed by Clement XIV until Pope Pius VII removed the suppression in 1814 as the political
climate of Europe stabilised post the Napoleonic Wars. O’Malley (2014) notes that the restored
Society was reborn into the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. Although this implied much
change, the Jesuits concentrated on getting their own house in order first4. They gradually
expanded again in Europe, China, Africa and the United States. By 1945, the Jesuits ran or were
engaged with 4,500 schools with over a million students.

3 However, the 36th GC, held in 2016, has not yet had any effects in the documents analysed in this
paper, which precede this date, although it reveals that their revision has been requested.
4
At this time, there were about 600 Jesuits, mainly in Europe, down from 22,500 in the middle of the eighteenth
century.

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After the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), Pedro Arrupe was elected at General the 31st GC.
The Aruppe years, to his death in 1981, saw much social change to which the Jesuits reacted by
reviewing both their governance structures and advancing their role in combating social injustice.
After Arrupe’s death, Pope John Paul II, to the Jesuits surprise, informed them he would appoint
the next General, By September 1983, a reconciliation been made, with Peter-Hans Kolvenbach
elected as General by the 33rd GC a position he remained in until 2008. He was succeeded by
Adolfo Nicolás. As noted by O’Malley (2014), from 1945 to 2000, not only did the Jesuits expand
globally, with many former missions maturing into provinces. Most new members entering the
Society now came from outside Europe and North America. Confirmation of this came for sure in
March 2013, with the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina as the first Jesuit pope in
history. As of January 2013, there were 17,287 Jesuits5.

Method
Our key sources for this study are archival documents and published works on the Society of Jesus,
and thus our method is similar to typical archival studies. Our sources have been acquired in two
ways. First, textbooks on various GCs, administration of the Society and the general history have
been acquired through normal library sources – see more detail later. Second, as part of a separate
but related study, we have had contact with some Jesuits who guided us towards some additional
library and internet sources. This allowed us to acquire, or have access to, versions of the
“Instruction on Temporal Administration” (ITA), which is more recently (2005) termed
“Instruction on the Administration of Goods” (IAG). These Instruction texts are very detailed in
their content and we summarise them later. The ITA and IAG span a time period from 1646 to
present. Similar written books guide the lives and administration of other religious orders, but to a
lesser extent on administrative matters. For example, Hiebl and Feldbauer-Durstmüller (2014)
refer to the Regulae Benedicti of the Benedictine Order, which they note contains a chapter on how
a cellarer (which they equate to a modern-day CFO) should conduct themselves. We examined
five such books of instruction, from 1646, 1894, 1935, 1979 and 2005. For the first four books, we
had full public access. On the 2005 book, we had full access but limited authorisation to use it, as
this text is still in force – see more detail later.

To put a theoretical framing to this study, we draw on the concept of rules. In contemporary
management accounting research, many works draw on both rules and routines (from an Old
Institutional Economics view) - including Burns and Scapens (2000), Lukka (2007), Oliveira and
Clegg (2015), Quinn (2014), van der Steen (2011) - to study how accounting changes or remains
stable. However, as argued by Quinn (2011) and Oliveira and Quinn (2015), rules and routine can
(and indeed should) be separated conceptually to understand accounting change. Here, we take
this on board and focus on accounting rules. Oliveira and Quinn (2015) suggest rules should be
defined broadly, and may be formal, considered as internal cognitive structures (human actors) or
be technologically embedded rules (non-human actors). Taking the historic nature of this study

5
See http://www.sjweb.info/news/ensPDF.cfm?PubNumID=188&DownLang=1

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into account, we do not take on board the notion rules as internal cognitive structures because
human actors are not within the scope of our methods. However, formalisation and codification is
a feature of much organised religion; for example, Canon law is noted as being the first modern
legal system in the Western world (Berman 2009). Additionally, while not technology in the
information systems sense presented by Oliveira and Quinn (2015), the timeframe covered by this
study includes the ongoing development of technologies in printing, communications and indeed
the development of accounting itself as a technology. With a definition of rules to hand, we also
need to consider how rules can change - as this study details the evolution of accounting rules at
the Jesuits over time. Oliveira and Quinn (2015) note how rules can change within an organisation
through gradual change in actions or through the effects of technologically embedded rules. More
importantly for this study, they also note how rules (and routines) may be affected by external
forces such as “technological change, economic shocks, legislation, external consultants, new
entrants into the organization and so forth” (ibid, 517). While these may typify modern-day
external forces, the principle that rules are affected by factors external to an organisation is applied
similarly in this study.

Jesuit accounting and control rules

To detail the evolution of accounting rules at Jesuits, we divide the time span of this study into
three distinct periods. For each period, we describe the rules in general and offer some insights
into the factors which may have caused change.

Rules from 1646 to the Great Depression (1929)

O’Malley (2014) noted the Jesuits as avid record-keepers (see also Alden, 1996, p. 617 on the
“scrupulosity” of Jesuit record-keeping, and many examples in the 1540-1750 period, pp. 617-
620). While this may have been so, from 1540 to 1646 there were no formal written guidelines on
keeping accounting records. Thus, we can only assume that records, while likely kept in most
instances, need not have been in any particular format. As noted earlier, the Jesuits grew rapidly
in the first century or so, mainly due to an increasing number of Colleges - which were the Jesuits
main interface to the lay community. A summary of the first seven GCs from 1558 to 1616
provided by Padberg et al. (1994) makes several references to decrees on the financial aspects of
running Colleges. For, example, the 2nd GC in 1563 decreed (Decree 8) the number of colleges
should not be increased unless well founded (financed); the 3rd GC in 1573 (Decree 43) noted
how long not well founded Colleges should be sustained with alms or income; the 6th GC in 1608
(Decree 46) ordered remedies be found to pay off debts of some Colleges. By the 8th GC in 1646
decrees were made to dissolve several Colleges in Italy and to impose penalties (Decree 15) 6 on
Superiors who burden Colleges with debt.

6
This decree noted specific penalties should not be legislated for, but imposed at discretion.

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In the context of this paper, Decree 60 of the 8th GC is a particularly relevant starting point. This
decree required each Local Superior (man in charge) and Procurator (finance officer) must “render
an account of the household finances and write down in his own handwriting how much he had
received and how much he is turning over to his successor” (Padberg et al. 1994, 299). The decree
also states:

Finally, an instruction should be drawn up on this matter, to be approved by Our Very

Reverend father and communicated to the provinces, according to the decrees of this
congregation (Padberg et al. 1994, 299)

This instruction referred to above was published in 1646 as the Instructio Pro adminstratione
rerum temporalium Collegiorum, ac domorum probationis Societatis Iesu 7, or in English
Instructions for the administration of temporal matters of Colleges and Houses of Probation the
Society of Jesus8. This was the first Instruction to specifically address accounting with the Jesuits.
The reasoning for the Instruction coming about at this time seems to be the increasing growth (and
indebtedness) of Colleges as noted earlier. O’Malley (2014) also notes that war, plague and
shifting political regimes also contributed. The Instruction consists of 16 pages, providing written
instructions (rules) for Provincials, Procurators and Rectors9. The instructions to Provincials are
more detailed and we have summarised them in Table 1. The 1647 Instruction also provides a
template for the accounts of the Province to be sent to the General, which is reproduced in Figure
1. Interestingly, the instructions for the Provincials also notes “what is said for the whole Province
applies to individual Colleges”, which presumably implies that each College would prepare a
statement like that shown in Figure 1.

7
The year of publication is subject to controversy. Our source for the original Latin text,
http://books.google.ie/books?id=rY_hEo23msQC, indicates 1646, the same year of the Decree 60. However, the
Instruction contains a sample report (see Figure 1, further below) indicating the period “From 20 May 1647 until 30
Aug 1648”, which may suggest a later publication date - particularly, 1648. This would represent a two-years time
lag after the Decree - a plausible period, particularly considering that it was the first time that the Jesuits produced
such an instruction. However, we have used 1646 as the publication year, to remain aligned with the only available
source of this document.
8
This is our own translation. A house of probation is “a place for testing one’s vocation” where the first two years
of Jesuit formation occurr (see http://www.jesuitica.be/assets/file/Schineller_JesuitGlossary.pdf )
9
A Province is typically a geographical area, which is led by the Provincial. There were 83 provinces as of 2013 -
see http://www.sjweb.info/news/ensPDF.cfm?PubNumID=188&DownLang=1 . A Rector is the director of a Jesuit
community (a house where Jesuits reside). A useful outline of the hierarchical organisation of the Jesuits is given in
Quattrone (2004).

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 Area Instruction

Accounts preparation Should be done speedily and accurately,

annually (p1)

Should be a comparison to previous year (p7)

1. Regular administration of economic business

should be done by experts alone (p5)

Books of settlement and account to be

maintained (p7)

Accounts subject to inspection by Visitor

(internal auditor) (p9)

Expenses Least necessary expenses should be incurred

(p1)

Must be accurate and acceptable to Provincial

(p16)

Income Colleges not to impose contributions, unless

needs of Seminaries make it a must (p3)
Table 1 - summary of instructions to Provincials, 1646

Actual Report
From 20 May 1647 until 30 Aug 1648

Monies received (in notes) 900

In other forms 480
Total 1,380

Monies paid (in notes) 800

In other forms 430
Total 1,230

There remains in money 50

Wheat, oil and wine 100
Total 150

Figure 1 - Provincial account report template, 1646

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For Rectors, the instructions note he should know “the habitual state of the temporal business from
the College books”. This suggests they should also keep books of account in the same way as the
Provincial (see Table 1). Further instructions for the Rector note the Procurator should manage
and record all monies from whatever source, and no new “building” should proceed without
authority from the Provincial. For Procurators, the 1646 Instruction notes his office is defined by
five headings: 1) that the rules of the College are preserved; 2) incomes are not decreased but
increased; 3) where the College is in debt, all necessary things be done to cope in an opportune
manner 4) that business affairs and monies be dispensed in a correct manner; and, 5) that reasons
for giving and receiving monies stand up to scrutiny. The Procurator is also charged with ensuring
title of lands, maintaining books (see above) and verifying the returns (of the harvest) from farms.

After 1646, the Instruction described above remained in place until 1894. The 24th GC took place
in 1892, the fifth GC post the suppression of the Society. Luis Martín was elected General, and
following Decree 22, he was entrusted to “undertake the preparation of an ordinance [...] on
temporal administration, to help us avoid various risks and undesirable consequences”, the
reasoning being “the very nature of temporal possessions which we use has notably changed in
today’s world” (Padberg et al 1994, 487). What the changes were is not noted, but in the almost
250 years since the 1646 Instruction, the general business and economic environment had changed
dramatically - for example, the Industrial Revolution occurred, tax laws were common, company
laws were introduced, inheritance laws introduced and paper money was primary means of
exchange. Thus, in 1894, Martín published the Ordinatio der Rerum Temporalium
Adminustratione or Ordinance for Temporal Administration10. This Ordinance consisted of 31
pages and covered several matters of administration, some of which are related to accounting and
controls. The Ordinatio begins by noting the changed economic system and circumstances, the
indebtedness of Colleges and the need to comply with what is lawful. The early paragraphs (6-9)
refer to the establishment and/or existence of a missionary fund (arca missionis), a
foundations/pious causes fund and a seminary fund (acra seminarii) and to the administration of
same. Later, these funds are specifically referred to under an Administration heading, which
suggests each be accounted for. Unlike the 1646 Instruction, there are no suggested templates or
formats of any accounting reports, but paragraph 43 notes books of account keep by the Procurator
are to be accurate, identify sources of income and keep an accurate records of inventories and
assets. Paragraph 46 adds that the books be examined by the Superior and a Minister (an
administrative assistant) to the Superior at the start of each month and to take not of any important
items.

The 1894 Ordinatio also introduces several administrative controls, or more specifically policies
and procedures (see Malmi and Brown 2008) around accounting and finance, which are
summarised in Table 2.

10
The expression “Temporal Administration” refers to the administration of material goods (movable and
immovable) under control of a religious order or church.

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 Ordinatio Policy/procedure
paragraph #

11 To have a fixed salary income e.g. in a College

18 All matters of temporal administration are ultimately the responsibility of

the General. Provincials, Rectors and Procurators are responsible for the
administration of Colleges and/or Houses11.

22 Provincial or local Superiors cannot alienate (sell) immovable goods or

mortgage them without the authority of the General

23 If monies must be borrowed out of necessity, caution should be used and

the state of the House/College be brought before Consultors12

25 Monies should not be given to another, if there is a risk of loss

26 and 27 Superiors should not let expenses exceed income, and expenditure should
not be superfluous

31 Contributions to the expenses of Colleges can be imposed with permission

of the General

33 Colleges should contribute to the seminary fund

38 Colleges should not impose excessive contributions

39 The Provincial can approve extraordinary expenditures to 5,000 francs

40 New buildings (capital works) are to be approved by the General. He must

be furnished with plans and reasoning for the building and it should be fit
for purpose, but not extravagant
.
Table 2 - summary of accounting/finance policies and procedures from the 1894 Ordinatio

Rules 1935 - 2005

In 1935, four decades after the publishing of the 1894 Ordinatio, a new Instruction for Temporal
Administration (ITA) was drawn up. The reasoning for the 1935 Instruction is “to give practical
rules concerning the use and applications of the juridical definitions and prescriptions contained

11
A “House” refers to a place where a community of Jesuits live. It is under the authority of a Superior and must
have at least an oratory. This it may be more than one physical building.
12
These are advisors to the Provincial, Rector or local Superior.

14
both, in the 1894 Ordinance for Temporal Administration and in some recent additions of the Code
of the Canon Law13” (Ledóchowski 1935, iii). The more detailed 1935 ITA consists of 91 pages
and from the outset it points out that administration must be prudent and wise, and all the actions
of importance must be recorded in writing. Among these actions are of course accounting and
account books. It also includes many items on the investment of money, presumably something
which became more relevant following the Great Depression of 1929.

In relation to account books, the 1935 Instruction provides key guidelines from a number of
aspects. First, it notes method, noting the account books should be carefully kept, using a clear and
uniform method. Second, it notes control. In this respect, there should be different accounts for
different houses or funds - although administered by the same person - and separate accounts in
all houses in which different bodies have ownership of goods. Third, accounting processes are
noted. A definition of common accounting terms is offered, as well as a list of the account books
required and description of the manner in which these must be prepared and kept. The account
books are shown in Table 3.

Day Book This records receipts and expenses. It is noted as “the basis and
life” of all the other books. To make sure figures written on this
book are accurate, the Instruction recommends to enter them
provisionally in a rough book.

Book for revenues This includes details such as the date on which a contract was
entered into, the amount and how long it is to last.

Book for liabilities and where a complete description of each item is contained,
assets including lists of:
● bonds held, listed in geographical order
● debts, specifying what obligations have been
undertaken and which movable or immovable assets are
to be burdened by them,
● immovable assets distinguishing those that are the
Society’s property and those rented by them.

Inventories which must be updated and accurate, and include a separate and
distinct note for articles of value or precious images. Four types
of inventories are required:
● sacred furniture,
● of all other furniture,
● of articles which belong to pious associations, whose
headquarters are in the House
● articles which do not belong to the Society.
Table 3 - Account books to be prepared in each House

13
This refers to a 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first official comprehensive codification of Latin Canon Law.

15
Hierarchical positions related to the process of preparing and examining the accounts are well
defined in the 1935 ITA. The Local Superior administers the goods belonging to an individual
House, but under the eye of the Provincial, who administers the temporal goods of the whole
Province. The Provincial in turn must render an account to the Father General. The Local Superior
carries out his functions by giving careful and particular instruction to officials, especially to the
Minister and Procurator, and at the same time drawing on their advice. The Minister attends to
daily purchases and lesser repairs and directs lower officials. The Procurator watches over all
temporal administration of the House and sees that the terms of budgets are fulfilled and the monies
provided spent in accordance with it. Both Minister and Procurator must aid each other in the
execution of their offices. At the end of each month and year, statements of the affairs and of the
financial situation of each House are to be prepared by the Procurator. It is noted that it is desirable
that these use the same ledger headings as those in the statements sent to the General in Rome. As
regards to the monthly statement of accounts, it is suggested they “might easily be called the one
thing which contains everything else” (paragraph 175, p.70). Tables 4 and 5 present a summary of
the main features of the monthly and annual statements, together with some comment drawn from
the ITA.

Elements A statement of the receipts and expenditure during the

preceding month
A statement of the credits and debits at the end of the month

Jesuits involved Each month the Procurator in the presence of the Minister
provides the Superior with the monthly statement

Aims/useful for…. The Superior must study the statement to have a full
knowledge of the financial condition of the House

Based on the financial condition, the Superior must put into

practice without delay whatever seems conducive to the
prosperity of the household.

To make the process more efficient, the monthly statement

must be carefully examined by the Superior and Minister
before the meeting where the statement is “officially”
presented. At the end of the meeting the Superior must sign the
statement of accounts, so that the Provincial has proof that the
meeting has been held.
Table 4 - features of the monthly statement

16
 Elements yearly receipts and expenses, giving first the totals of the
individual headings of the year´s receipts and expenditure,
then their total.

cash balances both at the beginning and at the end of the year.

movable credits and debts

Jesuits involved The annual statement of accounts is prepared by the

Procurator, and after being approved by the Superior must be
sent to the Provincial.

Aims/useful for…. The annual statement of accounts presents a state of affairs for
one year easily comparable with that of another year, so that
the cause of any increase or decrease may be found. It provides
the Provincial with an essential insight into the administration
of each house.
Table 5 - Features of the annual statement

Each year end, the 1935 ITA notes a control is carried out by the Provincial with the assistance of
the Revisor (essentially an internal auditor), to make an accurate audit of the affairs of each House.
In particular, the Revisor must a) examine the books of accounts, b) get an accurate knowledge of
each house investments, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and c) examine whether the affairs
have been well administered and every title related to properties obtained. The ITA also reminds
the Provincial not to forget the words of the previous 1894 Ordinatio - “nothing is of great help in
domestic administration than that the books be examined, not in a perfunctory manner, but
seriously and in detail” (paragraph 220, p.90). Additionally, the 1935 ITA notes that accounts are
to be sent to Rome to Father General. First, a status temporalis annuus Domus (annual temporal
statement) is to be sent at the end of the visitation (audit) of a House together with the report of
the Visitor, and second a status temporalis triennalis Domus (tri-annual temporal statement, every
third year along with other triennial documents.

The 1935 ITA also states that in each Province there must be 2 Arcae: an Arca Sumptuum
Communium and an Arca Seminarii, and 2 other Arcae are desirable and useful: an Arca
Fundationum and an Arca for Pious Purposes (table 6)

17
 Arca Name Purpose

Arca Sumptuum Covering the expenses incurred on account of the common good of the
Communium14 Province, such as, the maintenance of the Provincial and his curia, their
(Common fund) journeys, and also the journeys of the Consultors of the Province, among
other expenses.

Arca Seminarii The maintenance

Of Ours15 who are undergoing their probation, or engaged in studies,
Of Ours who, in houses of probation or study for Ours, hold official positions
(Seminary fund) Of Ours who are aged and infirm
Of lesser Seminaries of the Society and candidates for the Society (with some
restrictions).

Arca Fundationum Meets the costs for the beginning and completion of houses, and makes loans
(Foundation fund) at a very low interest or interest free to houses.

Arca for Pious Purposes Pious purposes outside the Society, such as, bursaries for students, support
(Pious causes fund) for the missions or for Spiritual Exercises.

Table 6-The Province Arcae, 1935 ITA

The Procurator must render an account of the Administration of the Arcae to the Provincial in
writing at least every six months. The Revisor is responsible of the audit of these accounts at the
end of every year and of the report to the Provincial and to his Consultors. In spite of the clear
guidelines included in the 1935 ITA, they were not implemented immediately by all. According
to Decree 26 of 28th GC, held three years later in 1938, insufficient observance of the 1935 ITA
was causing great harm in many Provinces (Padberg et al. 1994, 604). In particular, the Decree
insisted on the rendering of accounts by the Procurator in Houses, the audit of Province funds by
the Revisor, permission that Local Superiors must ask for when extraordinary expenses exceeded
their limits and the need to provide new Procurators with specialised training.

As previously mentioned the 1935 ITA also sets out rules on the investment of money. Investment
is defined as the “changing of money into a productive form” (paragraph 64, p.29). Any
investments should be done prudently, safely, profitably and exclude an appearance of trading or
speculation. The investment may take the form of immovable goods (e.g. lands, farms), movable
goods (e.g. bonds, shares) and houses or other buildings. On immovable goods, some advantages
and disadvantages of investing in land are described in the ITA as per Table 6.

14
This is the term used in the header of the 1935 ITA on p.79. The introductory sentence of the section describes the
fund as “Sumptus Communes”, and the term Arca Sumptus Communes was also used.
15
“Ours” refers to the Jesuits themselves.

18
 Advantages Disadvantages

● Free from changes to which bonds ● Danger of confiscation

are subject ● When it is administered by Jesuits
● The possession of land of moderate special skills are needed to enjoy a
size is recommended when Jesuits sufficient income
cultivate the land and its product is ● When it is given to externs Jesuits
used for their immediate needs. receive less rent than secular traders
do
● It may give the appearance of wealth
● Its alienation has restrictions
Table 7 - advantages and disadvantages of investing in land

On investment in movable goods, the key type being bonds, the 1935 ITA notes that the greater
part of money must be invested in Government bonds, loans to colonies, and municipalities, rather
than in shares. On the investment of money in bonds, the ITA insists in the avoidance of trading
in bonds and even the appearance of trading. It is noted that to increase the security of investments,
money is to be placed in several kinds of bonds, from different countries and companies. Also,
whether the Society buys bonds (or shares), it must pay attention to the purpose of the entities
chosen for the investment, excluding those which have an unlawful or questionable purpose. In
particular, the trade forbidden consists in buying bonds (stocks or shares) with the intention of
selling them as soon as their value increases, and repeating this action over and over. The general
rule establishes it is advisable to choose bonds whose value is hoped to remain. Nevertheless, some
circumstances may appear that recommend changes in investments. For example, selling bonds is
permitted if it is possible to obtain others more profitable and not less secure; or, there is a danger
of loss, because current valuation is notably higher than purchased and this will not be maintained;
or the annual dividend remains the same while the value of the bonds increases notably. On
investment in shares, the 1935 ITA recommends to choose preference or debenture shares rather
than ordinary. Regardless, any shares purchases should be held for the short-term only, and shares
should be from entities that meet the requirements for profitability and safety. Buying shares in
newly-formed entities is to be avoided, as is the purchase of unquoted shares.

In December 1979, a new Instruction on Temporal Administration was published, replacing the
1935 Instruction. In its preface, Father General Arrupe noted “because today the economic
conditions throughout the world have changed, to say nothing of the manner of doing business, it
has seemed useful and indeed almost necessary to draw up a new Instruction”. The 1979
Instruction is much longer than the 1935 one, containing 221 pages and takes into account, among
other issues, reforms of the structures of Temporal Administration of the 32nd GC which from
1974. These changes were closely connected to the revision of the Jesuits Statutes on Poverty,

19
which required “distinctions between the Jesuit religious community and the institutional works
or apostolates served by that community, and with clear accountability and appropriate control of
the separate finances of the two” (Padberg 1994, pp. 40-41). To achieve this, the 1979 Instruction
introduced new rules and explained with in greater detail many rules that were already within the
1935 Instruction.

This elaboration of detail is particularly true of those parts that state the tasks to be carried out by
the different people responsible for administration. In fact, the 1979 Instruction starts by listing
the chief functions of Temporal Administration, setting out the numerous tasks which are involved.
In particular, the description of the Provincial’s role and of people to assist him in his decisions is
set out. The Local Superior’s role, and his relationships with subordinate officials and with the
Provincial are also more widely expressed than in 1935 Instruction. On his role, the 1979
Instruction includes new aspects such as a “duty of ensuring that the distinction between apostolic
institute and community is applied” (paragraph 167.11). Thus, he must be assisted by the Directors
and Bursars (Administrators) of the works dependent on a house and the Bursar should give an
account to the Superior or to the appropriate Director.

The 1979 Instruction, besides replacing the word “Procurator” with “Treasurer”, states the
functions of Treasurers, the Provincial and the Local, much more clearly than in the 1935
Instruction and highlights the expert knowledge and skills required to be a Provincial and a local
Treasurer due to his relevant role in Temporal Administration. This latter point stems from a
demand included in Decree 26 of the 28th GC, that was held after the publication of the 1935
Instruction, on the need of providing new Procurators with specialized training. In fact, the 1979
Instruction encourages (paragraph 8) the continual study of the science and technique of
administration, law, finance and organization, for all the Jesuits involved in administration, as well
as the preparation supplied by their spiritual formation. The 1979 Instruction also clarifies
(paragraph 211), that Provinces, “as distinct from communities and apostolic institutes, are capable
of owning even productive goods and of receiving stable and assured revenues from invested
capital”.

Table 7 identifies the four Province Arcae (funds) as per the 1979 Instruction, namely the Arca
Seminarii, Arca Praevisionis, Arca Fundationum and Arca Operum Apostolicorum.

20
 Acra Name Purpose

Arca Seminarii The maintenance:

Of Ours who are undergoing their probation, or
engaged in studies,
Of Ours who, in houses of probation or study for
Ours, hold official positions
Of Ours who are engaged in the work of
permanent or on-going formation
Of minor Seminaries and candidates for the
Society (with some restrictions).

Arca Praevisionis Support of the aged and the sick members of the
Society.

Arca Fundationum Meets the costs for the beginning and completion
of houses and makes loans at low interest or
interest free to apostolic institutes, seminaries and
communities.

Arca Operum Apostolicorum Makes grants for ordinary expenses and operating
costs: Retreat houses for the use of externs,
bursaries for pupils in our institutes, works for the
dissemination of Catholic doctrine through mass
media, charitable works within and outside the
Society

Table 8 - The Province Arcae, 1979.

In comparison to 1935, Arca Seminarii no longer applies to the care expenses of the aged and the
sick; a new Arca, Arca Praevisionis, meets this specific goal, indeed quite unrelated with formation
expenses. The Arca Operum Apostolicorum promotes, among other works, ones similar to those
included of the Arca Causarum Piarum for Pious Purposes” per the 1935 Instruction. And finally,
the former Arca Sumptuum Communium has been removed from the 1979 list of Arcae, although
this Instruction warns, like in 1935 that the common expenses of the Province must not be covered
with stable revenues. Unlike the 1935 Instruction, which only mentions that the Procurator of a
Province must provide the Provincial with an estimate of the expenses of the Arca Seminarii for
the coming year, paragraph 201.18 of the 1979 Instruction adds that he must prepare budgets for
the coming year, for the common expenses account and for all the Arcae of the Province.

21
Accounting, and possibly more so control, are the key element of the 1979 Instruction and we now
outline some of the most prevalent. First, on accounting methods, the 1979 Instruction ( paragraphs
30-32 and 183), notes that a general template of accounting reports to be produced for each
Province, and this should be suitably adapted in accordance with generally accepted principles of
accounting in the nation concerned, and should meet all civil, fiscal and social security regulations.
This, it suggests, leads to a desirable uniformity in accounting among the various categories of
works, institutes and communities, at least in the same country. In addition, the accounting
methods should be easily intelligible and adapted to the particular circumstances of each work,
community or institute. For example, in small communities or works of minor importance, it may
be sufficient to produce an annual account of receipts and payments, of the cash in hand and at
bank, and of debtors and creditors. Nevertheless, in bigger communities double entry bookkeeping
should be used and a more elaborate presentation of their periodical accounts is required, with
notes and supporting documents, so that the financial and economic position may be thoroughly
understood. To support these methods, Appendix III of the 1979 Instruction includes a Latin-
English glossary of accounting terms, as well as the forms that must be followed to present the
financial statements. This Appendix, attempting to ensure uniformity using accurate accounts of
income, expenditure, assets and liabilities, was not a feature of the 1935 Instruction.

Second, the 1979 Instruction does not explicitly mention accounting books as the 1935 Instruction
did. Nevertheless, we can identify some similar key records, such as the day to day accounting,
records of securities, written cards for each item of immovable goods, cards for inventories of
movable goods, and a special book of mass stipends. However, the planning and budgeting system
and internal and external controls have gained more prominence. Paragraphs 40-48 describe,
among other issues, the kinds of budgets, their usefulness, periodic comparison between budget
and actual figures, and tasks carried out by people involved in budget preparation and approval.
Paragraphs 49 and 55 highlight that the objective of the internal control is to protect Society
property, and to ensure that individuals who share the administrative work remain honest and that
confidential matters are not made public. To achieve this control goal, the 1979 Instruction
mentions different instruments that may be useful for an internal supervision, accounting areas
more open to risk and preventive measures, such as the rotation of personnel or auditing practices.
In relation to risk areas, two useful examples (among others) relate to the alienation of property
and contracts of debt. In both cases, the 1979 Instruction (unlike the 1935 Instruction), contains a
very detailed description of permissions, the causes that lead to these acts, forms to be completed
and relevant information to carry out these decisions. On steps to be taken for the preparation to
the presentation of the financial statements, the duties of those engaged and the goals to be
achieved are very similar to that described in the 1935 Instruction, although their description is
much more detailed.

22
Third, the 1979 Instruction contains new information on the Province Treasurer´s tasks. All
communities or apostolic institutes must send the Provincial the annual balance sheets and other
financial and statistical information. According with paragraphs 235.1 and 235.2, the Province
Treasurer must collect all these reports, examine them, make his comments and separate them in
two groups, depending on whether the information is sent to Rome or not. Additionally, paragraph
235.3 also adds the following documents, to include supporting notes and explanations, which
must be prepared by the Province Treasurer and sent by the Provincial to the Father General in
Rome:

● An annual report of the Province Arcae and of common expenses of the houses, works and
institutes. In particular, he must prepare the annual balance sheet, the statement of
revenues, expenses and changes in fund balance, and the statement of changes in the
financial position. These reports must be presented using “standard” forms, detailing
assets, liabilities, fund balance, revenue and expenses of each of the Arca, as well as
common revenue and expenses. Accounts must be audited and prepared following
nationally recognized accounting principles.
● Statistical information forms for houses, works or institutes and the Province.
● A copy of long duration contracts.

As mentioned, the 1979 Instruction pays more attention than the 1935 one to control issues. In this
regard, both Revisors, the Revisor Domorum, who supervises communities and institutes, and the
Revisor Arcarum, who is in charge of the internal supervision of the Province, play a key role. The
issues to be examined by these Revisors, according to the 1979 ITA, are more numerous than the
ones considered in 1935 ITA and are described with greater detail. In particular, Paragraphs 231,
232 and 239 mention explicitly that the examination carried out by the Revisors must include
consideration of Civil law as well as Canon Law (both of the Church and of the Society) especially
relating to acts of extraordinary administration and the observance of the norms of the Instruction.
Both Instructions state that the Revisors must examine the accounts and analyse the financial
position, as noted earlier for the 1935 Instruction. In addition, the Revisor Domorum must make
an inspection to see if the building needs repairs and, in some cases, examine the management of
investments. The Revisor Arcarum must also send his ex-officio report in a sealed envelope to the
Father General. Paragraphs 51-52 also note that if the civil law requires it, an independent external
audit may be appropriate, although its notes that “this will sometimes be less convenient” and if
internal supervision methods work, the external audit should be avoided to reduce costs.

On the investment policy established in the 1979 Instruction, some new rules are introduced in
comparison to the previous instruction. First, communities (Paragraph 88) cannot own permanent
investments to produce revenue for their own benefit, whereas Seminaries, Houses of study,
Colleges and Infirmaries are allowed to hold such investments. Provinces and the Society as a

23
whole can hold such permanent investments, as can Houses, but only on behalf of Apostolic
institutes. Second, investments in real estate can be made by shareholdings in Property Investment
Companies, provided that the company owns first class real estate property in easily identifiable
places, does not use its properties for immoral purposes and pays satisfactory returns (paragraph
99). Third, participation in an Investment Trust (mutual fund) or the formation of a mutual fund
internal to the Society within a Province or region are alternative ways of investing in securities
that could offer some advantages (Paragraphs 102.5 and 103). On investing in shares, it notes some
purchases which must be avoided that were not mentioned in the 1935 Instruction, such as shares
of companies owned by relatives of Jesuits (Paragraph 107.3) or companies located in places where
strict regulations are not in force (Paragraph 104.2 even names some countries). Fourth, the
purchase of jewellery or works of art is to be avoided, due to the fact that these goods do not meet
the requirements of marketability, safety and sound return, and can cause scandal (Paragraph 109).
Finally, it insists on the idea that not only skilled Jesuits but also laymen should be consulted in
order to optimize the Society’s investments. Any experts must be trustworthy, have no conflict of
interest and properly remunerated (Paragraph 101).

Contemporary rules (2005 to present16)

In 2005, two and a half decades after the 1979 Instruction, a new Instruction on the Administration
of Goods (IAG) was drawn up. Although some copies of this 2005 IAG fell in the public domain,
our ensuing analysis is bound by an agreement with the Jesuits, since the IAG is still in force (as
of 2017) and for internal use only. Nevertheless, our agreement allows us to present a high-level
analysis which is still informative and allows for comparison. Given the likely difficulty of
researchers to access the original publication, we are providing a wider scope view of its contents,
within the limits agreed. Finally, since the IAG is a contemporary document, this limitation will
obviously not affect the bulk of the research on the Jesuits, which focuses previous periods.

The 2005 IAG, with a total of 252 pages, includes a Preface by the Superior General, Peter-Hans
Kolvenback, and the Statues on Religious Poverty in the Society of Jesus. Both set the background
and motivation underlying the IAG dispositions. In the single-page preface, the General mentions
the need expressed by the Provincials in a 2000 meeting to “present a more coherent picture of the
vow of poverty and deepen the way today’s Society lives it” (p. x). As a response, in 2003 he
updated the Statues on Religious Poverty, drawing upon various decrees of the GC and legislation
of the Generals on this matter throughout the Jesuits’ history. The IAG therefore emerges to
complete these norms, revising and updating the previous Instructions (as reviewed above) and
aiming to “instruct and counsel Jesuits and others about the role of poverty in our management of
the goods (…) that are entrusted to us” (p. x). In line with previous Instructions, this 2005 update

16As already noted, the 36th GC, held in 2016, has requested the 2005 IAG, as well as the underlying
Statues on Religious Poverty, to be revised. However, to the authors’ knowledge, such revision has not
been made yet.

24
is further justified by economic changes, such as “globalization, the exponential growth of
information, the appearance of the Euro, the speed with which information is made available, etc.”
(p. x). This reviewed IAG was “done from an evangelical perspective” and “takes into account our
way of proceeding” (p. x) and since “the IAG has as its (…) principal source the Statues on
Religious Poverty” (as the 1979 Instruction), the two documents were published in a single
volume. The Statues on Religious Poverty in the Society of Jesus, with 33 pages, has three parts
on 1) General Principles, 2) Personal Poverty (discussing the vow of poverty, common life and
Jesuits’ common way of living in external matters) and 3) Poverty in Common. This latter part
analyses the sources of revenues, the distinction between communities and apostolic institutions
and how poverty applies to the two types of institutions, the sharing of goods and the poverty of
the society as a whole and of the provinces. An Appendix provides detailed dispositions regarding
the yielding of administration and the disposition and renunciation of property.

The 201 pages of the IAG itself start with an introduction, in chapter 1, clarifying its nature,
objective and audience and norms nature and their discernment, and it distinguishes between actual
instruction and explanation/advice. Chapter 2, on “Legal Aspects and the Basics of Financial
Administration”, discusses the role, importance and characteristics of financial management
within the Apostolic service within the Jesuits and the general legal framework. It also introduces
important concepts for financial administration, in particular introducing basic control
mechanisms for ordinary and extraordinary financial administration, the administration limits
(Cifra-Limite) and permissions applicable for each hierarchical level, as well as the definition of
surplus and excess goods. After distinguishing between the goods, rights and obligations (owned
by the Society, entrusted to the administration of the Society, or to a particular Jesuit), it indicates
person who administer the goods, in hierarchical terms and co-workers - which may include laity
- while concluding that financial administration is the responsibility of all. The structure of the
following section on how to administer is aligned with a typical structure of a management
textbook, providing practical advice for planning, organization, coordination, execution and
control. The numerous relationships related with financial administration (and, therefore, the
relations within the Jesuits and outside entities involved in these relationships) are identified, as
well as legal, planning and accounting and financial documents involved. Accounting principles
and documents are given particular salience. The potential necessity and convenience of using
consultants and other types of aid within the Society is acknowledged, and instructions to archive
various types of documents are provided. One final section expands on the necessity of
mechanisms of control and auditing, identifying permanent and occasional means of internal
control, and concluding with an analysis of the types of contributions expected from the accounting
rendered to superiors.

The three following chapters detail the financial administration at three different levels: local,
province and the General level, respectively. Chapter 3, focusing on the local level, starts by
resuming the important distinction between Communities (or Houses) and Apostolic Works (or

25
simply ‘Works’, or Institutions), which is relevant throughout the entire IAG. Works can have a
wide variety of situations, so this chapter distinguishes the various types of works regarding their
ownership and the Jesuit’s responsibility (whether the works are owned by the Society or entrusted
to it) and regarding their dependence or independence to a particular Jesuit community. Detailed
identification is made regarding various types of works not owned, ranging from works founded
or promoted by the Society but titled to or governed by another entity, to a work under the
individual direction of a Jesuit. Sections of Chapter 3 identify people responsible at the local level,
their functions and authority, again distinguishing between communities and works. For
communities, it identifies: the local Superior / Superior of a community; the Minister of the
community / Assistant to the Minister (sub-Minister); the local Financial Administrator /
Treasurer; and the Finance Committee. For Works, it identifies: the Director of a dependent work;
the Director of an independent work; the Administrative officials; the Finance Committee; and the
Boards of Trustees or Directors (when required). While the descriptions of these functions already
provide relevant indications about the tasks assigned to each position and relationships and
reporting lines between those positions, an additional section expands on these relations,
emphasising the importance of norms of internal control and even audits.

Chapter 4 analyses Financial Administration at the Province level. It first identifies assets
administered at the province level, among others, the four funds (Arcae), as presented below, and
the people responsible and their functions and powers: the Provincial, the province Treasurer, the
Revisor of province Financial Administration, the Revisor for houses (communities) and Works,
and the province Finance Committee. Again, the relations established between these people are
expanded when detailing the activities, regarding: planning, organization, coordination and
financial reporting. The administrative division by the four basic funds of the Province (Arcae)
remains as defined in the 1979 ITA, but English translations are added (as in the 1935 ITA): the
Arca Seminarii is also called the Formation fund; the Arca Praevisionis is the Aged / Infirm fund;
the Arca Operum Apostolicorum is the Apostolic fund and Arca Fundationun is the Foundations
fund (cf. Table 7). However, additional funds are mentioned, namely a Common fund (or
Operating fund); the Trust and Agency Funds; and other funds. Coordination with the local
Administrators and mutual technical and financial help between province Treasurers is also
discussed. The chapter also discusses financial reporting: by those who work with the Provincial;
by the Provincial; and by independent auditors. This chapter concludes with three sections
discussing relationships of assistance between Provinces (how Provinces can collaborate, specific
organizations to provide assistance, fund-raising outside the boundaries of the Province and how
lay persons can participate), the unification and division of Provinces, and the constitution and
operation of Conferences of Major Superiors.

Chapter 5 continues the analysis of Financial Administration, but at the level of the General. After
briefly defining the powers and responsibilities at this highest level, it explores the functions and
faculties of those involved- the General; the General Treasurer and his co-workers; the Revisor of

26
General Financial Administration and the Finance Committee of the General. This chapter finalises
by describing the objectives and operation of the Charitable and Apostolic Fund, or FACSI,
controlled at this level. Chapter 6 covers the main functions of financial administration, devoting
particular attention to the general concepts and procedures in the acquisition of goods (all sources
of income received, as well as purchases), administration and alienation of goods, while leaving
the practical procedures to the following chapter. It starts out by describing when incorporation of
companies and other civil entities is required to represent the Society, from a civil perspective.
Turning then to acquisition of goods (i.e., sources of income received), it distinguishes income
from persons (from work, Mass stipends, Pensions and other compensations, and the destinations
that can be given to these types of income), from productive activity or by accepting donations
(both general norms and particular ones regarding unrestricted donations, restricted donations,
restricted donations that involve long-term commitments and restricted donations as non-
autonomous pious foundations). Several dispositions regarding the important aspect of purchases
are also included under this heading.

Chapter 6 devotes particular attention to investments. It specifies general indications about powers
to invest and what to look for, and avoid, in an investment. It provides numerous, and very specific
instructions and advices on different types of investments, distinguishing between investments in
fixed assets/real estate and in securities (movable assets). It also clarifies what are licit and ethical
investments, and prohibited and illicit investments – restating the general prohibition against
engaging in business activities and then providing a specific list of business activities that are
prohibited. After this extensive subsection on investments, the section of administration of goods
continues by analysing loans (both to persons outside the Society and within the Society), renting
of property, receiving deposits, employees (dependent or autonomous), co-workers and volunteers,
and some final notes on other work contracts and registered trademarks and copyright. The chapter
also details the alienation of goods, providing general concepts on alienation in the strict sense (of
sale of property) and in the broad sense (when it affects the asset ownership, as further described
below). This is followed by a lengthy list of juridical regulations, defining requirements,
formalities and rules for alienation, and points on sales (e.g. of items in excess or at teaching
institutions, and quasi-commercial sales). Broad sense alienation is then explored, regarding
rentals, exchanges and similar agreements, debts (including several important cautions),
mortgages, donations and alms; and actions against illegitimate alienations are explained.

Chapter 7 elaborates on practical ways to proceed in financial management, providing more

detailed guidance and instructions about matters discussed at a more general level in previous
chapters. The budgets or (as indicated in the table of contents, the “presuppositions”, a reflection
of having been translated from the Spanish original version) are analysed first, in line with the
importance given to this document in previous sections. It states who and when budgets should be
prepared, defines details of the approval process, emphasises the need to control the budget on an
ongoing basis and what to do when expenses exceed budget by 20%. The chapter continues and

27
expands instructions and advices of previous chapters on mass stipends, purchases, investments,
alienations, debts, buildings, contracts for work or services with employees, accountability
(“rendering an accounting”) and a final section on applications to and reporting on grants from
FACSI. Of these sections, the one on buildings is particularly detailed, giving step-by-step
guidance and key points to consider regarding construction and/or substantial remodelling and
ordinary maintenance and repair. The section on “rendering an accounting” is of particular interest,
expanding the broad indications previously sketched at the end of Chapter 2 and the financial
reporting lines established in subsequent chapters, across the multiple hierarchical levels from to
the General.

Chapters 8 and 9 provide forms, and respective explanatory notes, to be used in the multiple
interactions and communications previously defined. After four initial forms for FACSI purposes,
all other (eleven) forms are for reporting to Rome. Nine of those forms are for the Province level:
the statement of financial position; the statement of activities; the revenues, expenses and changes
in net assets of the operating fund; the year-to-year comparison of the financial position of the four
permitted funds (the Arcae) and of the other funds, as well as forms regarding the respective
activities of all these funds; statistics and analysis (mostly, basic demographic and financial ratios);
and a list of assets. The two final forms are for the financial reporting of Houses and Works to
Rome, including both financial and non-financial variables and ratios. The chapter finalises with
extremely detailed notes on how to fill the forms. Finally, Chapter 9 contains an 8-page glossary
of accounting and finance terms relevant to the Society.

Discussion

Our confidentially agreement prevents us from presenting in this paper many detailed comparisons
between the 2005 IAG rules and the preceding instructions, in particular identifying continuities
and changes in defined rules or in the importance attributed to particular topics. Therefore, in the
ensuing discussion, whenever detailed contents of the instructions are needed, reference will only
be made to instructions up to the 1979 ITA. However, overall, the 2005 IAG is mostly an update
and development of the previous instruction, and no major differences exist between the general
orientations of the two documents.

The above analysis of the five Instructions issued throughout the centuries unambiguously show
more continuities than disruptions. The overarching message of the Instructions remains the same,
stemming from the underlying (and stable) religious principles – in particular, those related and a
consequence of the Jesuits’ vow of poverty, as elaborated in-depth in the Statues on Religious
Poverty. Rules included in the successive Instructions are completely updated to the time and
context where they were written. For example, regarding accounting, the 1979 ITA states that
“large administrative units such as universities can profitably make use of an electronic computer

28
or mini-computer” (paragraph 33). Or, in relation to investments, it’s evident that the regulators
had a deep knowledge of the different options that could be chosen to invest money in the late
1970s.

The five Instructions reveal, in each revision, a substantial increase in the importance attributed to
accounting and control issues. Recent versions emphasise ensuring proper accounting, internal
reporting and control (and even external control, by “independent auditors”, as stated above – IAG,
2005), and compliance with legal practices. Furthermore, the instructions are clearly made with
the purpose of assisting users with a wide range of competencies in accounting and finance,
particularly taking into account that many of the people undertaking accounting and finance
functions in the Society (in particular, of course, Jesuits) will have their main background in
religion and related areas.

Therefore, the instructions combine both general principles and precise rules, as well as practical
instructions and mere advices, on religion, management, finance, accounting and control. As it
could be expected, and has already noted, religious principles permeate all documents. The IAG
(2005) (the document analysed in the remainder of this paragraph) was “done from an evangelical
perspective” and having as “principal source the Statues on Religious Poverty” (Preface, p. ix).
Chapter 2 starts precisely by making “Apostolic Service in the Society of Jesus (…) a point of
departure” (p. ii) to the entire document, and by providing “[a] fundamental understanding of
financial management in the Society” (p. ii). Religious principles are present in the many
references to the need of living according to, and providing evidence to the outside of, the vow of
poverty (and, in a less prominent way, the ultimate goal of aiding the poor). In turn, these principles
are translated into practical terms in terms of what the vow of poverty represents and how it can
be achieved within and through the many aspects of financial management. General management
principles are visible, for example, in chapter 1 when traditional areas of management – planning,
organization, coordination, execution and control – are applied to “good financial administration”.
General financial principles and concepts, but also detailed information, are covered in several
parts of the document, but the section on Investments, in chapter 6, is particularly rich. General
accounting principles and concepts are mentioned, for example, in chapter 2, as well as
“accounting and financial documents in particular” (p. iii), going down to very detailed rules or
mere advices on aspects like “archives” (p. iii) and “budgets” (p. vii) (including the multiple stages
of their usage, from their “elaboration” and “approval” to “ongoing control” – p. vii), and even
detailed “Forms for Reporting to Rome” (p. viii). Regarding control, again both general principles
and detailed instructions are available, ranging from indicating multiple forms of control
(conceptualised in textbooks such as Merchant and Van der Stede (2007) in the well-known
taxonomies of action, personnel and results controls) to more detailed aspects, like
recommendations to segregate some activities.

29
The analysis of the 1935 and 1979 Instructions provides similar and additional evidence of the
integration between the sacred and the secular fields when the administrators deal with economic
matters. This relationship is extraordinary clear from the very beginning of the 1935 ITA, when
paragraph 6b states “the close connexion between temporal and the twofold end of our Institute”,
warning of the harmful consequences derived from both, the shortage of funds and the waste of
money. Paragraph 7 adds “temporal administration must be spiritual, in keeping our poverty”, what
means that “temporal goods must be considered as means to the carrying out of the spiritual end
of our Institute” (paragraph 8). Jesuits in charge of the administration must act as stewards - not
as owners - in relation to the “special possessions of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the patrimony of
His poor” (paragraph 5). So, taking economic and financial decisions leading to an efficient
management of goods seems to be a key element to support the religious ends of the Society of
Jesus.

Both Instructions, the 1935 and 1979 ITAs, state that the Society of Jesus should comply with the
civil law in the administration of their goods. Particularly, the 1979 ITA encourages the
administrators to comply with the Society of Jesus statutes, the ecclesiastical law and the civil
legislation of their country - including issues such as employment, taxation and accounting. Not
only is there no conflict in meeting the requirements of civil law, but its accomplishment seems to
be vital to an efficient administration. For example, both 1935 and 1979 ITAs warn that all
documents and deeds relating to Jesuit rights must be drawn up in legal form so they could be used
in a civil court. In this case, the accomplishment of the civil law let the Jesuits counter possible
claims to property and keep their patrimony.

The above integration between religion, management, finance, accounting and control may be
interpreted as an indication of some degree of integration between the sacred and secular, that has
been suggested in the literature, and that we here label ‘macro-level integration’. Moreover, and
very significantly, there is also a very clear ‘micro-level integration’, at the level actual practices
in which the sacred and the secular are jointly managed.

The topic of the “Distribution of masses” will illustrate this ‘micro-level integration’, drawing
upon the detailed instructions of the 1979 ITA (Part II – “Management of some particular business
transactions” – “Art. III – Distribution of Masses”, paragraphs 156-166)17. It starts by stating
(Paragraph 156) that “[a]nyone receiving stipend Masses from externs must at once give them to
the Treasurer for distribution; or at least inform the Treasurer as soon as possible of the number of
Masses said and hand in the full stipend for the funds of the community. Furthermore, Mass
stipends must not be left to the free disposal of any one of Ours in such a way that he could directly

17 In the 1935 ITA, the topic of Distribution of Masses is analysed in paragraphs 156-166, and the overall
orientation is similar to the 1979 ITA, described here; in the 2005 IAG, this topic is analysed in
paragraphs 514-528.

30
dispose of them for the benefit of relatives, friends or the poor”. Paragraph 157 further states that
“[m]asses may be transferred (italics in the original) directly between community Treasurers of
the same Province. It is for the Province Treasurer to transfer stipends to the General Treasurer or
to the Treasurer or houses of another Province”. Paragraph 165 states that “Our communities may
not retain more obligations for Masses to be offered by their members than can be fulfilled within
a year [footnote omitted]. Any surplus intentions and stipends should be sent in good time to the
Province Treasurer, at least at the end of each year. Similarly, Provinces should pass on surplus
Masses to the General Treasurer, so that in due time they can be distributed. The obligation of
passing on Masses “ad instar manualium” comes into force at the end of the calendar year in which
they should have been said. The obligation of passing on manual Masses comes into force one year
after they have received, unless the donor wishes otherwise”. This disposition reflects a ‘capacity
constraint’ of Jesuits to carry out this ‘operational’ (sacred) activity within a given time (paragraph
160 indicates the suggested formula to calculate “a moderate space of time = 30 + n + n/2” in
which masses should be celebrated), given prevalent rules on the subject, that we may
conceptualise as ‘quality-assurance’, against a ‘mass production’. In addition, and most
importantly for the discussion around the sacred-secular divide (or integration), two remarks can
be made. First, this process involves both ‘operational staff’ (the celebrants) and ‘financial staff’
(the various treasurers indicated). Second, managing within extant (socially-constructed and
religiously-based) ‘production capacity’ constraints entails an internal reallocation of this
‘production’ across ‘sites’, along with the underlying revenue (the Mass stipend).

Indeed, the very title of this Part II of the 1979 ITA (“Management of some particular business
transactions”, as mentioned above) frames the distribution of Masses as a ‘business transaction’
within the Jesuits. Therefore, the above description clearly shows how this process to manage
‘operational’/“business” (sic.) aspects (the distribution of Masses) entails managing related
financial aspects (the Mass stipends), with the involvement of both ‘operational’ and ‘financial’
actors. We therefore label this a “joint sacred-secular process”, providing a clear example of a lack
of a sacred-secular divide; indeed, and on the contrary, it provides a clear example of a sacred-
secular integration.

Two additional brief examples of such integration are now provided. As a first example, paragraph
164 of the 1979 ITA requires that “[m]ass stipends must not be spent before the Masses have been
celebrated for which the stipend was given”. This disposition relates the three events of funds
receipt, ‘operational’ activity and funds expenditure, restraining expenditures until the actual
execution of the ‘operational’ activity justifying the previously received revenue. Again,
accounting, treasury and operational aspects are intertwined, with some parallels to the accounting
principle matching principle, and an overall goals of financial prudence, delaying the moment
when funds can be spent, is certainly present. A second, donations can also imply certain
restrictions, defining which use may be done to the funds. Again, the sacred and the secular have
to be managed jointly.

31
Therefore, the sacred and secular are, in these particular aspects, totally integrated. However, this
by no means suggests an economic/financial oriented approach, as we stated at the start of this
discussion. On the contrary, the various Instructions set limits to the types of investments and
business activities, including a “general prohibition against engaging in business activities” (p. vi)
(chapter 6), and detailed dispositions promote conservatism and prudence over financial gain, as
well as gratuity over income and profit (which is indeed explicitly mentioned as something to be
avoided, by taking appropriate ‘business’ decisions based on financial and accounting
considerations and concepts). However, it must be acknowledged that these general dispositions
basically mirror general dispositions at the general Church level, rather than being specific to the
Jesuits.

Final comments

This paper is totally focused on the written regulations of the Society, and therefore excludes from
its scope an analysis of the practices of the Society throughout the centuries. We are aware of
literature (e.g., Alden, 1996; Dusausoit, 2012) exploring instances of controversies around Jesuits’
commercial activities (such as “participation in the fabled silk trade of the Orient, in the
sandalwood commerce of Macao, in the cloth, pepper, and gem trades of India, and in the sugar
and forest-products trades of Brazil” - Alden, 1996, p. 529) or activities related with lending and
borrowing (see Alden, 1996, pp. 552-567).

Historical research on actual practices is of course extremely relevant, and probably even more
relevant than the one we modestly present here, since if rules are not enacted, they lose their
relevance. However, knowledge about the formal rules, prescribing procedures to influence
practices, is also required for that literature, to enable comparisons between actual and prescribed
practices and hence infer about their origin and, most importantly, about their internal legitimacy
within the Society of Jesus. Given that this paper identifies and reviews the various instructions
valid across more than four centuries, whose public knowledge is limited or inexistent, it may
contribute to further research on practices, now more informed about the applicable regulatory
background – although we acknowledge that consulting the original sources here revealed will be
essential to actually support that research. We also acknowledge that in-depth knowledge of
relevant regulations would need to include the numerous other publications referenced in the
Instructions (other codes from the Jesuits or the Church, manuals, etc.); such large scope is beyond
the ambitions of this paper.

Additionally, it should not be presumed that there is a unidirectional ‘causal’ path from rules to
practices. In fact, these Instructions not only intend to state rules, based on religious considerations
and other regulations, in order to prescribe practices, but they also occasionally refer to “our

32
common ways to proceeding”, i.e., to current practices engrained among the Jesuit community, at
a global or at a local level. One such example is the 1935 ITA indication of a form “in use in
several Provinces” (paragraph 147) for priests to record their Masses. While we can obvious
identify a regressive process (since current practices have been influenced by previously defined
rules, and so on) ultimately leading towards an initial source (religious reasons), these “common
ways” often refer to very practical aspects, in particular regarding local contexts. As such, there is
also some openness to, on less important and mostly pragmatic matters or when merely
recommendations (rather than regulations) are at stake, to accommodate extant practices within
rules, but using a wide formulation broadly referring to extant practices, without actually
specifying them.

Finally, and of course, new editions of regulations contain some contents which are merely, or
basically, reproductions of extant ones. Therefore, assuming that those extant rules were already
being enacted, then no change in practices is being prescribed by the new edition of regulation,
but merely intends the continuation of current practices.

33
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