History

Catholicism has regarded modernity with suspicion, if not rejection, until quite recently. The modern period has constituted the Vatican’s worst nightmare, not only because it saw the demise of the Church’s power monopoly, but also because the Church had to share power with the modern state. The fear that modern ideals might lead to atheism shaped (and has survived in) the Vatican’s international politics to this day.

Despite a history of colonialism and other forms of modern contradictions, Jesuits have been instrumental in starting and maintaining the intellectual tradition and the catholic social teaching in Africa. Following the dynamic of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Society of Jesus, this article analyzes how God has worked wonders through the pains and sufferings of men and women in the history of Africa.