The Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius is born

Dec 24, 1491

Ignatius of Loyola, born Inigo Lopez de Loyola, is born in the Basque region of northern Spain. He is the youngest of thirteen children.

Columbus reaches the Americas

Oct 12, 1492

Christopher Columbus lands on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, jumpstarting the Age of Discovery.

Ignatius joins the military

Nov 17, 1509

[Approximate date]
Ignatius of Loyola (then called Inigo) joins the army under the Duke of Najera and Viceroy of Navarre, Antonio Manrique de Lara.

Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses

Oct 31, 1517

Martin Luther posts a list of 95 beliefs on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany, as part of the Reformation.

Mona Lisa is completed

Dec 31, 1519

Leonardo da Vinci finishes painting the Mona Lisa, in Florence, Italy. It now hangs in the Louvre in Paris.

Ignatius is hit with a cannonball

May 20, 1521

At the Battle of Pamplona, Ignatius is hit by a French cannonball and breaks his leg. It is improperly repaired and ends his military career.

Ignatius visits the Benedictine monastery

Mar 25, 1522

Ignatius of Loyola, fully recovered, but walking with a limp, visits the Benediction monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat, where he lays his military uniform before an image of the Virgin Mary.

Ignatius arrives at the Holy Land

Sep 3, 1524

Ignatius of Loyola, searching for self-denial and penance, arrives emotionally in Jerusalem. He is forced out twenty days later as not to anger the Turks, who controlled the area.

Society of Jesus unofficially founded

Aug 15, 1534

Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Alfonso Salmeron, Diego Laínez, Nicolás Bobadilla, Peter Faber, and Simão Rodrigues, all students at the University of Paris, meet at Our Lady of Montmarte and resolve to form the Company of Jesus to follow the demands of the pope.

The Institutes of the Christian Religion is published

Mar 11, 1536

[Approximate date]
John Calvin, founder of the Protestant religion Calvinism, publishes an apologetic work called the Institutes of the Christian Religion, which defended the beliefs of the Reformation.

Henry VIII is excommunicated

Dec 17, 1538

Pope Paul III excommunicates the many-wifed King Henry VIII of England from the Roman Catholic Church, from which he had seceded three years prior.

Society of Jesus officially founded

Sep 27, 1540

Pope Paul III issues the Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, establishing the Jesuits, but limiting the number of its members to sixty.

Ignatius is Superior General

Period: Apr 19, 1541 to Jul 31, 1556

Ignatius of Loyola serves as the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was voted into office unanimously.

Ignatius dies

Jul 31, 1556

Ignatius of Loyola dies from Roman Fever, a severe form of malaria known to affect Rome at various times in history.

Shakespeare is born?

Apr 26, 1564

The playwrite William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream) is baptized in Warwickshire, England. His real birth date is unknown.

Tycho's Nova occurs

Nov 3, 1572

The first visible supernova is seen in the constellation Cassiopeia, marking a breakthrough in astronomy.