Le ‘Indie’ della peste: il contributo gesuita all’ampliamento semantico del concetto di ‘martirio’

The Jesuit theological reflection has played an important role in the long process of redefining the semantic extension of the term ‘martyrdom’. The originality of the Jesuit contribution on the topic is evident in the reflection on the “martyrio per pestem”. Through the study of two consolatory letters written by General Muzio Vitelleschi and the analysis of the “litterae indipetae” it is possible to trace the fourth directive of action of the Jesuit missionary magisterium, the “Indies of the plague”, and to clarify the importance and vividness of Jesuit discussion on the martyrdom for charity.