How to identify a Jesuit from photographs
Today, we sit virtually beside the archivist to understand how one can identify a person in a photograph and restore a name to a face. It is not uncommon for… Read more
Curiosities and news
The cost of living in the 19th century
How much did a metre of cloth cost in the 19th century? What was the cost of shoes and socks? Today we are looking at some documents that can answer… Read more
The Stages of Jesuit Formation
How long does it take to become a Jesuit? What are the various stages of this journey? Today, we aim to answer these questions by outlining the full formation process… Read more
Reconstructing the Life of a Jesuit
One of the most frequent inquiries received by our historical archive concerns the biographies of Jesuits. Often, a brief biographical note is requested for inclusion in a publication; more frequently,… Read more
Waiters and service personnel
Can one study the work of lay people using the sources of a religious order? Moreover, what we can discover about their days, hours and pay? We have previously seen… Read more
The “Ristretto” of the Twelve Apostles
In the course of the many episodes of this column, we have told the story of various works that were born from the zeal of individual Jesuits and later became… Read more
Sports in Jesuit schools
What sports were played in Jesuit schools? And what archival sources can still tell us about athletic life in the classroom? As the school year winds down and final exams… Read more
Ignatian Pilgrimages
Where did the Jesuits of the past make their pilgrimages? What destinations did they have? In times of Jubilee, pilgrimages are more numerous, not only to the Basilicas where the… Read more
Apostolate with tram drivers
On Labour Day, today’s episode is dedicated to the tram drivers. In fact, not many know that the Society of Jesus for many decades was involved in their spiritual care.… Read more
Jubilees in Archival records
2025 is a year of Jubilee for the Church. In today’s episode, we discover how the documents in our Historical Archives can tell the story of past jubilees, both ordinary… Read more
Jesuit Libraries
Often our researchers are looking for the catalogues of the libraries that were present, in ancient times, in the colleges and residences of the Society of Jesus. These instruments are… Read more
Photographers and female photographers in archive papers
Can one contribute to the history of photography through the papers of a religious order?Those who work in photography and do not study the history of the Church may find… Read more