In 1548, ten members of the then recently founded Society of Jesus opened the first Jesuit school in Messina, Sicily. That event would have immense repercussions on the character of the Society of Jesus, but it was also a crucial event in the history of schooling within the Church and in western civilization. Jesuit education was founded on the Renaissance and humanist traditions, to which Ignatius and his companions brought a depth of spirit drawn from their experience of the Spiritual Exercises: the firm conviction that all creation is good; all learning is good; and everything in the world can help us find and serve God and one another.