Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Founder of Jesuits)

Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Founder of Jesuits)

Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Basque: Loiolako Inazio,
Eneko Loiolakoa, Spanish: Ignacio de Loyola), (1491 –
July 31, 1556) was a Spanish knight, who became a
hermit and priest, founding the Society of Jesus and
becoming its first Superior General. Ignatius and the
Jesuits became major figures in the Counter-Reformation,
where the Catholic Church worked to reform itself from
within and countered the theology of Protestantism. After
his death he was beatified and then on March 12, 1622,
was canonized. The feast day of Ignatius is celebrated on
July 31 — he is the patron saint of soldiers, the Society of
Jesus, the Basque Country, the provinces of Guipúzcoa
and Biscay, among other things.

From a Basque noble family Ignatius was initially a
knight, but after his leg was seriously wounded at the
Battle of Pamplona during the Italian War of 1521–1526,
he underwent a spiritual conversion while in recovery.
Ignatius had read De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony
which inspired him to abandon his previous lifestyle, to
live a life of labour for God following the example of
men like Francis of Assisi. He claimed to have seen a
vision of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus at the shrine of
Our Lady of Montserrat, while living as a hermit in a
cave at nearby Manresa.

He visited the Holy Land with the desire of converting
the local people, but was sent back to Europe by the
Franciscans. Ignatius then spent seven years learning
theology and Latin, firstly at three universities in Spain
and then one in Paris — he arrived in the city at the same
time John Calvin was leaving. After gaining a tightly knit
association of followers, Ignatius founded the Society of
Jesus which received recognition from Pope Paul III.
Highly disciplined, the movement's followers learned the
Spiritual Exercises and Constitution. Education and self-
examination were at the core. At the time of Loyola’s
death in 1556, there were 1,000 Jesuits organised into
eleven units.

Files:

Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola

The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola by Father Maurice Meschler (1899)