Puzzle No. 101: When?

The Catholic Church mounted a sustained response to the Reformation through institutional renewal and doctrinal clarification. On 27 September 1540 Pope Paul III confirmed the Society of Jesus through the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae, establishing the Jesuit order founded by Ignatius of Loyola. Organised with military discipline and a special vow of obedience to the pope, the Jesuits became leaders in education, missionary work across the Americas and Asia, and the reconversion of Protestant regions. Between 1545 and 1563 the Council of Trent, an ecumenical council convened by Paul III and continued under later popes, met across three periods. It reaffirmed Catholic teaching on scripture and tradition, original sin, justification, the sacraments and the Mass; condemned Protestant doctrines as heresy; and enacted reforms against clerical abuses such as the sale of indulgences, pluralism and poorly trained clergy, mandating seminaries to educate priests. Together the Jesuits and Trent defined the Counter-Reformation, halted the spread of Protestantism in much of southern and central Europe, and shaped Catholic doctrine and practice into the modern era.

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