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St Ignatius of Loyola (or Inigo de Loyola) was born in the town of Azpeitia situated in Basque, Northern Spain into a rich Catholic noble family consisting of thirteen children (five sisters, seven brothers) in whom he was the youngest and was named Inigo.
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He lived in his family's castle.
His family took pride in their armed forces and were very loyal to the king. -
Ignatius was an extremely proud person who had pleasures and desires of earthly things. He was willing to achieve his goals and was interested and motivated by violence. He suffered from a gambling addiction as well as daydreaming constantly about women, love, fame and glory.
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His mother died.
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Took up the surname 'de Loyola' after his place of birth.
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He was sent to a woman named Juan Velazquez (finance manager in the kingdom of Castile) whom he served and worked with. He observed what happened in court, understood the wealthy lifestyle and learnt to be a courtier. He was involved in swordplay, grew up obedient and disciplined and had a good sense of right and wrong.
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Ignatius along with his brother named Pedro Lopez were caught in shocking violent misbehaviour during the night and were taken to court.
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Juan Velasqueza died and Ignatius became part of the army which was lead by the ruler of Najera.
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He became part of the army protecting the town Pamplona from the French.
During battle he was attacked by a cannon ball which broke and wounded his legs. The only way he could reset his leg was to break it again so he undergone surgery with no anaesthesia and left with a leg smaller than the other. He also suffered from continuous fever and was alerted of his near death. -
While his leg was still recovering he wanted to read romance novels but the castle didn't have, so he read a copy on Jesus Christ’ life called ‘De Vita Christi’. After he completed it, he believed how great the saints were and decided to become a soldier of the Catholic Faith. He also wrote his ‘Spiritual Exercises’ and on the day of the feast of St Peter and Paul, he remarkably recovered.
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He left the castle and moved to Jerusalem.
He became a hermit and went to barcelona continuing to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat where he confessed, prayed, gave up his sword and knife placing them on the alter and provided the poor with clothes while clothing himself in sandals, a staff and uncomfortable clothes. -
After the Shrine of our Lady, he went to River Cardoner in Manresa where he stayed in a cave for ten months and wrote his 'Spiritual Exercises'. He also had many visions which he did not reveal about, but it was assumed to be an encounter with God that enlightened Ignatius.
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He went to the Holy Land where he aimed to pass on his love and understanding to the people. He also went to observe the scenes from Jesus life but was ordered to return to Italy by the Franciscan Guardian out of fear as the Muslim Turks took over the place that time,
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After the pilgrimage to the Holy land Ignatius went to the university of Barcelona to learn Theology and Latin.
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After University he entered a boys class where he learnt Latin for another two years.
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After 42 days in prison Ignatius assisted adults with his 'Spiritual Exercises' and preached the gospel to children but since he didn't have the skill and authority he was blamed for teaching the wrong thing. He stayed in prison for about two months and was banned from teaching anything religious.
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After learning Latin he was able to enter University of Alcala close to Madrid where he preached the gospel and taught about prayer. The Spanish Inquisition heard about this and forced him to stay in prison for 42 days.
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He joined University of Salamanca and began to preach there but after two weeks the dominicans sent him to prison and warned him to preach to no one except children and only the right teachings.
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He travelled to Paris and studied Latin grammar, literature, theology and philosophy at University of Paris where he encouraged people to read his book 'Spiritual Exercises' attracting many folowers including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber whom he shared rooms with. They all formed one group, there was six of them.
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He suffered from a painful stomach ache which was discovered to be Gallstones
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He taught and preached about Christianity
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When Ignatius was still in Paris, him and five of his followers made a vow at Montmartre chapel in France to be obedient, pure and live under poverty. They planned to travel to the Holy Land providing the Popes' approval.
Ignatius finally became an official priest, assisting those who were ill and less fortunate, and developing the work of the Jesuit Order. -
Ignatius completed his education earning an M.A degree in Paris and then when he became sick travelled back to his original place Guipuzcoa. However he did not live in his family's castle but rather kept a place next to a hospital and began to spread the teachings of Christianity.
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He met his followers at Venice and planned to travel to the Holy land to preach and convert people but because at the time the Muslims and Christians were fighting, there were no ships available.
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Ignatius travelled back to Rome with his followers. He stopped at the La Storta chapel and there he saw the heavenly father with his son who said to him that he would be successful and pleased in Rome.
In Rome Ignatius and all of the followers were accepted by Pope Paul III and began to preach and educate everyone on theology and the Gospel. -
For the first time Ignatius lead the mass in St Mary Major Church. Ignatius wanted to do mass in Jerusalem but St Mary Major chapel was a good replacement since the manger there was believed to be the real one from Bethlahem.
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Ignatius requested his friends to meet him at Rome. There they spoke about upcoming events and from then they didnt consider forming a new order but have recently called themselves "company of Jesus". Few weeks later, they decided to form a community with permission from the Pope. Along with vows of obedience, chastity and poverty they also had to promise to travel wherever the Pope says to go.
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The Jesuit order was accepted by Pope Paul III and named ‘society of Jesus’. Some were against the Society as they disagreed with Ignatius’ idea of getting rid of the divine office in church and accused him of following the rule of praying at a particular time when really he believed that when we see God in everything, we realise that any time is suitable for prayer.
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Jesuits Australia The Jesuit Order, also refered to as the "shock troops of the Counter-Reformation" was a powerful community which stood out to people in the 16th century. At the centre was Education and teaching and their motto was "To the greater glory of God." They were attached with the Pope, and among the members and followers there was unity.
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Francis Xavier, an obedient member of the Jesuit and a follower of Ignatius suffered greatly as he journeyed around from place to place. He spread Catholicism and converted thousands of people. Other members such as Peter Faber (master of Spiritual Exercises) and Diego Laynez (Theologian at Council of Trent) were also very powerful in the counter-reformation as they too preached and educated people.
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Ignatius was selected twice as the superior of the Jesuit order. The society was tough to train in as you would remain in stage one for two years doing duty in hospitals.
It was necessary to beg, go on pilgrimage, and learn theology, philosophy, humanities and teaching. -
Ignatius along with his followers said their vows for the order outside St Paul's Church. Some travelled ouside the country but Ignatius stayed in the same place leading the communities and missions around the world including "the society of Jesus" (which he established).
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Before 1548 Ignatius opened schools and colleges mainly to teach those who were young and new to the Jesuits in areas such as Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and India.
In some catholic cities of France, people were suspicious of the Jesuits especially when they planned to establish their own college in Paris. The french would assume they were not real catholics who taught the true faith. -
Father Palaneo assisted Ignatius to write the Jesuits constitution.
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Read for free 'The Spiritual Exercises' by St Ignatius of Loyola (translated from autograph) He released his book called 'Spiritual Exercises' which consisted of prayers, meditations and reflections. The aim of the book was to guide people back to God and to strengthen their relationship with him.
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A school was opened for the Jesuits and lay people under the call of Messina, the court judge from Sicily. This was seen as successful as it made a huge impact on the society, it changed people’s attitudes and prevented them from turning away from the church.
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Ignatius also begun organisations for those who wanted to convert and become catholics (e.g. the Jewish and the women who wished to return to the church).
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The Laws for the Jesuits (written by Ignatius with the help of Father Palaneo) were finished, accepted and released.
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During the summer, Ignatius suffered from a harsh fever. He sensed a near death
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Ignatius told his secretary Polanco to get him the last sacrament and the blessing from the Pope. However his Physician assumed he wouldn’t die and because Polanco believed the physician, he told Ignatius he would go the next day as he was busy writing letters.
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Ignatius became weak and died suddenly from a natural cause. Unfortunately he did not get the Pope’s blessing or the holy oil as Polanco was too late.
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His feast day is celebrated on the day and month of his death by the church and Jesuits.
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By now the Jesuits had developed and grown with approximately a thousand members arranged in units with nine in Europe, one in Brazil and another in the Far East.
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Pope Paul V beatified Ignatius.
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Video by Real Catholic Tv from Youtube explaining St Ignatius' life and who he was as a person Pope Gregory XV canonized Ignatius along with St. Francis Xavier.
Ignatius is the patron of soldiers, religious retreats and the Jesuits.
