Founded in 1540 by ten men with no capital and no business plan who had banded together in a loose association “to help souls,” the Jesuits built the world’s most influential company of its kind. As confidants to European monarchs, China’s Ming emperor, the Japanese shogun, and the Mughal emperor in India, they boasted a Rolodex unmatched by that of any commercial, religious or government entity.

In a radical departure from centuries of tradition, the Jesuits rejected the monastery and communal prayer. Committed to mobility and flexibility, instead of retreating from the world they embraced it as “contemplatives in action,” praying on the run and living with “one foot raised.”

The Jesuit formula has been tested across generations, continents and cultures. It has served Jesuit explorers, mapmakers, linguists, astronomers, theologians, musicians, social activists, writers of children’s stories, lobbyists, preachers, school teachers and even cannon manufacturers. Heroic Leadership tells the stories of some of these early Jesuit leaders, and shows how their unique leadership formula still develops leaders today.

This innovative, wide ranging Jesuit company still exists, drawing inexorably toward its five hundredth anniversary. Its 21,000 professionals run two thousand institutions in more than one hundred countries. Jesuit colleges and universities continue to mold leaders in many fields. More than 40 Jesuits alumni now serve in the U.S. Congress, including Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Representatives Henry Hyde (R-IL), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

Other Jesuit-educated leaders include:
• Bill Clinton, former U.S. president
• Denzel Washington, Academy Award-winning actor
• Patrick Ewing and Bill Russell, NBA stars
• Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach
• Mary Higgins Clark, bestselling mystery novelist
• Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court justice
• Alex Trebek, host of “Jeopardy”
• Dee Dee Myers, President Clinton’s press secretary
• Sting, rock star
• Vicente Fox, President of Mexico
• Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba
• Francois Mitterand, former President of France
• Robert C. Wright, chairman of NBC
• Alan Alda, Emmy Award-winning actor
• Tim Russert, host of “Meet the Press”
• Pierre Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada

To learn more about the Jesuits and their current works, visit: www.Jesuit.org