Jesuits and the Joint Mission to England During 15801581

This book is an historical study of the Catholic mission to England, a joint mission that included three English Jesuits ( the first Jesuits to be sent to their native land) and twelve other English Catholics. It focuses on these men and other people who became involved with them. To a large degree, the work is an account of a manhunt – the pursuit of the missioners by Government informers and spies and their efforts to evade capture. In addition, the book sheds light on the life of Elizabethan Catholics, describes the underground that assisted priests, and points out connections between the English Catholic community and the Continent. It examines the religious struggle in England to that time and argues that the mission intensified the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in significant ways. Also, the decision of the Jesuits to serve in England changed the nature of the missionary effort because for the first time an entire religious order was committed to the English mission and the Jesuits had the training, organization and skills that made them especially effective.