Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
It was on this date in 1541 that St. Ignatius Loyola professed solemn vows as a Jesuit, together with four other companions. The Society of Jesus had been approved in 1540, but no solemn vows were made until these five Jesuits did so in Rome, in the basilica of St. Paul outside the walls.
An important feature of solemn vows is their irrevocability. Once they have been made, they cannot be un-made. They are indissoluble. No matter what, there is no turning back. Not every group of Catholics living together for religious reasons chooses to profess solemn vows. The Oratorians of St. Phillip Neri, for example, live together without solemn vows. The first Jesuits had a decision to make: should their vows be solemn or not.
In some cases, it is better to leave future options open, and in other cases, it is better to make an “unmakeable” decision. An army would not work well if its soldiers were free to leave whenever they pleased. Once an army starts its attack, the soldiers have to fight to the end, either to victory or defeat. The soldiers are irrevocably committed to the army as long as the term of enlistment endures.
The first Jesuits, wishing to “serve as soldiers (militare) beneath the banner of the cross” chose to fight until the end, to have no escape clauses, to be bound by indissoluble vows for as long as their term of Earthly pilgrimage endured. They did this not to boast of themselves, but to boast of God alone, and to give glory to Him whose irrevocable faithfulness to mankind was proven by the cross and the resurrection.