From 'Prefecture' to 'Province'

Foundation of English seminaries in Valladolid (1589) and Seville (1592), and of an English College in St Omer (1593) created an awkward administrative structure for the mission's superior.  In 1598, Acquaviva introduced a novel form of governance: England became the Society's first prefecture.  The mission's Prefect, Robert Parsons, resided in Rome with Vice-Prefects in Brussels and Spain, and a Superior for the Jesuits within England.  Acquaviva also promulgated rules defining these roles vis-à-vis regional provincials.

Friction remained.  The opening of a novitiate in Louvain (1607, transferring to Liège in 1614) and a house of studies in Louvain (1614) exacerbated the difficulties.  The new Father General Muzio Vitelleschi, previously Father Rector at the English College in Rome, resolved the problem by elevating the mission to the status of Vice-Province in July of 1619.

Full provincial status was granted in 1623.  The new province was strong, numerically and financially, with more than two hundred Jesuits distributed throughout England and Wales, and in the novitiate now at Watten, the house of studies now at Liège, tertianship in Ghent (1621), and the college at St Omer.  Moreover there was hope that religious toleration would be granted to Catholics in England as a result of the proposed match between Prince Charles and the Spanish Infanta.