God's Arsenal: The Libraries of the Society of Jesus in the Early Modern Age (1540–1773)

The event is part of the Jesuit Studies Café series organized by the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College

Speaker: Natale Vacalebre, University of Alcalá, Spain
 

This presentation explores how Jesuit institutions acquired, classified, controlled, read, and circulated books. Moving between normative prescriptions and everyday practice, it considers libraries as essential infrastructures of education, discipline, and knowledge production. The history of the Jesuit College of Perugia serves as an extended case study through which these broader structures and practices can be observed in detail.

It will be an opportunity to discuss the history of Jesuit libraries in the early modern period, their role in the circulation of books and knowledge, and the practices of book acquisition, organization, censorship, and reading within the Society of Jesus.

The event will be held online via Zoom and is open to everyone upon registration.

You can find further details and registration information here:

https://jesuitportal.bc.edu/2026/10/08/october-2026-jesuit-studies-cafes-announced-for-fall-2026/