To which order was the name "Army of the Pope" given?

The "Army of the Pope" was the nickname given to the Jesuits. The Jesuits were led by Ignatius of Loyola and backed by Pope Paul III, who officially sanctioned the organization in 1540 through the issuance of a papal bull. The Jesuits were concerned with spreading the Roman Catholic faith against the threat of Protestant Reformation.

The group pledged their loyalty to the pope and practiced military style tactics to compliment preaching the gospel. Their...

The "Army of the Pope" was the nickname given to the Jesuits. The Jesuits were led by Ignatius of Loyola and backed by Pope Paul III, who officially sanctioned the organization in 1540 through the issuance of a papal bull. The Jesuits were concerned with spreading the Roman Catholic faith against the threat of Protestant Reformation.

The group pledged their loyalty to the pope and practiced military style tactics to compliment preaching the gospel. Their violent tactics led to the nickname of Army of the Pope, as well as God's Soldiers and God's Marines. The opening lines of the founding document contain the line, "whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God."

As the Protestant Reformation began to spread across Europe during the 15th and early 16th centuries, the Catholic Church responded with efforts that would come to be known as "the Counter Reformation." The Jesuits also created schools and used non-violent missionaries to counter the claims of the Protestant Reformation. However, they earned this nickname because of the violent tactics they employed as well.