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The life of St. Ignatius of Loyola
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Ignatius, whose real name is Inigo de Loyola y Onaz, was born in 1491 in Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in Nothern Spain. He was the youngest of thirteen children.
At the age of sixteen years he was sent to serve as a page to Juan Velazquez, the treasurer of the Kingdom of Castile. As a member of the Velazquez household, he was frequently at court and developed a taste for all it presented, especially the ladies.
He was often addicted to gambling, very contentious, and not above engaging in swordplay on occasion. For a number of years he went about in the dress of a fighting man, wearing a coat of mail and breastplate, and carrying a sword and other sorts of arms.
Eventually he found himself at the age of 30 in May of 1521 as an officer defending the fortress of the Pamplona against the French, who claimed the territory as their own against Spain. During the battle a cannon ball struck Inigo, wounding one leg and breaking the other.
During the long weeks of his recuperation, he was extremely bored and asked for some romance novels to pass the time. Luckily there were none in the castle of Loyola, but there was a copy of "The Life of Christ" and a book on the saints, "The Golden Legend of the Saints". He noticed that after reading and thinking of the saints and Christ he was at peace and satisfied. Not only was this experience the beginning of his conversion, it was also the beginning of spiritual discernment, or discernment of spirits, which is associated with Inigo and described in his "Spiritual Exercises".
The "Exsercises" recognize that not only the intellect but also the emotions and feelings can help us to come to a knowledge of the action of the spirit in our lives. Having recovered from his injury, Inigo set out on a pilgrimmage to the monastery at Montserrat, near Barcelona, a trek of several weeks. During his stay at the monastery he gave himself to prayer and fasting and other works of piety. Finally, he made up his mind to pursue a new life of service to God, which he symbolized by placing his sword at the feet of the famous statue of "Our Lady" of Montserrat.
From here, Inigo moved up the road to Manresa, where he lived in a cave by the river for ten months, praying and begging for alms. During this time he experienced many spiritual movements and received extraordinary insights into the nature of God. This collection of spiritual activities became known as the "Spiritual Exercises" and are still used today as a major guide to growth in the spiritual life. In his desire to serve God, Inigo realized that he needed more education, especially in Theology and Philosophy.
He reached the University of Paris, where he made friends with a fellow Basque named Francis Xavier and a Frenchman named Peter Favre. These men became interested in Inigo's spiritual experience and in due course followed the "Spiritual Exercises" under his guidance, along with several other students, including Francis and Peter, decided to join Inigo in the formation of a band of priests dedicated to the service of the Church.
It was during his time in Paris that Inigo changed his name to Ignatius, incorrectly believing it to be the latin equivalent. This group decided to go to Rome to place themselves at the disposal of the Pope, who was Paul III at the time.
Paul received this young group of companions who become known as the "Companions of Jesus". Paul confirmed the Society as a religious order of the Catholic Church in 1540. After that, Ignatius spent his time directing the work of the Society, composing the "Constitutions" that would govern the life of the young order, and putting the finishing touches on the "Spiritual Exercises".
At the time of his death in 1556, the "Society of Jesus" had grown to over 1000 members, operating in 20 different countries in the Old and New Worlds.
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