ABSTRACT
Modern science is full of organizations, from disciplinary organizations like the American Physics Association to elite interdisciplinary groups like Britain’s Royal Society. But the first organization to gather, publish, and circulate scientific information worldwide was not an association of scientists, but the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order. This may come as a surprise. When many of us think of the history of the Catholic Church and science, particularly in the early modern period, the first thing that comes to mind is the trial of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) for publicly arguing that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo was tried by the Inquisition, and ultimately forced to recant his position. No wonder that we often think of the church as an opponent of science. However, the story of the Jesuits from their founding in 1540 to their (temporary) suppression by papal order in 1773 shows that reality is more complex than that.
