There is little doubt that European intellectual development, in various fields, has been marked by the contribution of Jesuits. The emergence of the natural sciences is no exception. Just three years before the first publication of Nicolaus Copernicus' De Revolutionibus, the Society of Jesus was officially founded in 1540. Eleven years later, we see the beginnings of what eventually became the Roman College, a center of learning whose influence regarding theology and natural philosophy extended over all Europe and beyond. The Jesuits' apostolic style took shape therefore during the turbulent years of the birth and development of natural science. The scientific revolution has been studied in various ways. Some early accounts favor a so-called Whig interpretation whereby the sequence of events is seen as a steady, victorious march from the age of darkness towards the light. Other, more responsible accounts reconstruct the narrative in terms of paradigm-shifts. In many of these accounts, the Jesuit project in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is often portrayed as ending in a tragic failure. Jesuits are depicted as being at first favorable to the new science. There is then the decree from higher authorities that blocks their open attitude; and henceforth they become the major resistance to scientific progress. The result of their opposing efforts in this area is then portrayed as a total failure. Fortunately, more recent accounts of how science develops are more sophisticated and responsible. Imre Lakatos proposed that our main focus should be on research programs.