Wojciech Ziółek, S.J., trans., Szymon Rodrigues, S.J., Opowieść o początkach Towarzystwa Jezusowego

The number of Polish scholarly translations of the primary sources from late medieval and early modern Europe is still unsatisfactory, despite continuous efforts in this area.Polish scholarship is yet to receive, for instance, editions of multiple fundamental writings of late medieval spirituality of the devotio moderna movement.The situation is no different with regard to the founding texts of the Society of Jesus.Thus, we should welcome the latest attempt to introduce the Polish reader to De origine et progressu Societatis Iesu (1577) by the Portuguese Simo Rodrigues, one of the first six companions of Ignatius of Loyola, who took their vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre in 1534.Rodrigues's tale about the origins of the Society complements, to some degree, the material known from the other narratives of early Jesuits, notably by Nicols Bobadilla, Diego Lanez, Juan Alfonso de Polanco, Pedro de Ribadeneyra and the so-called Autobiography, allegedly written by Ignatius himself.Rodrigues's writing is all the more intriguing if we consider his complicated relationship with the Society's authorities.A would-be companion of Francis Xavier in India, he became the first provincial of the newly established Portuguese province in 1546, but was transferred to Aragon in 1552.His apostolate in Portugal was marked by notorious controversies and heated disagreements among local Jesuits.This resulted in conflict with the order's superiors, leading to Rodrigues being banned from ever returning to his homeland.For him, it was a severe blow.He spent the next two decades in Italy and Spain

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