La «pia institutio» dei gesuiti. Congregazioni, libri di regole, manuali

The pedagogical activity of the Society of Jesus has not remained confined within the walls of the colleges but has spread as a more general and ordinary model of religious and civic behaviour for the entire society. The most important instruments for the circulation of Jesuit education were the “Marian congregations,” which starting in the late sixteenth century followed a precise general rule established by Rome. Along with student “academies,” the congregations supported the model of Jesuit education according to the Ratio Studiorum. At the same time they were open to circles of former students who wanted to hold positions of responsibility in the professions and in the ecclesiastical world. Additionally, there were special congregations for noblemen, merchants, people from the dynamic urban middle class, and even for individuals from lower social classes. The European network of “congregations” contributed to a rich specific literature with a set of recurrent topics, both in the international language of the time, Latin, and in the local vernacular. Every congregation had its own “handbook”, called Libellus solidatis, like the famous one written by F. Coster. The handbook contained the rule of the association, prayers, lyrics of religious songs, meditations for the practice of sacraments, and moral instructions for personal and public behaviour. The book of the congregation was an example of a well-regulated civic behaviour, not only for the interior and personal life, but also for the life of the entire community.