Gabby DiNucci

Mr. Campbell

Religion 10

12/15/17

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was born as Inigo Lopez de Loyola in Loiola, Spain in 1491. He was

born in a town that was then known as “Loyola”. He was the youngest of 13 children and born

into minor nobility. Sadly, his mother passed away when he was only seven years old, and him

and his siblings were then raised by Maria de Garin. Although his mother passed away at a

young age, he was still a member of the local aristocracy. Ever since a young age Ignatius

always aspired of becoming a great leader. When he was sixteen years old, he became employed

by Juan Velazquez, who was the treasurer of Castile. By the time he was eighteen years old, he

had already become a soldier who fought under Antonio Manrique de Lara, the Duke of Nagera.

This is when he started calling himself Ignatius, which was another form of Inigo. Ignatius

through the years had began to form the reputation of a duelist. It was even said that he once got

into a fight with a Moor about Christs divinity.

Ignatius fought many battles under the Duke of Nagera’s leadership. Ignatius had a talent

of coming out of battles untouched and unwounded. Due to this ability, he was given a

promotion and even took command of his very own troops. However, one day in 1521, Ignatius

was defending the town of Pamplona against the French attack and he was badly struck by a

cannonball in his legs. The one leg was broken, while the other one was in very bad condition.

Doctors had to immediately perform surgery in hopes of saving his legs and his life. During this

time period there was no numbing medicine, so surgery was brutal. Even after all the doctors had
done, it wasn’t enough and his legs began to get worse and they told Ignatius to prepare for

death. On June 29, Saint Peter and Paul’s feast days, Ignatius began to slowly get better. Once

they knew that Ignatius could handle it, they amputated his leg, which would have been insanely

painful, but was necessary to speed up the recovery.

During Ignatius’s down time he began to read whatever books he could find. Most of the

books happened to be about the lives of saints and Christ. Due to his reading and new

understanding, he became more devout. One story, called “De Vita Christi” which means the

Life of Christ, explained spiritual exercises in which you could image Christ present there with

you in any situation. This story was a great inspiration to Ignatius and his spiritual practices. As

he lay in his bed sick, he developed the desire to become a working servant of Christ and felt a

longing to convert non-Christians. Ignatius discerned Gods call and completely changed his way

of life, so he followed God rather than man. Less than a year later, Ignatius had recovered

enough and was able to leave his bed. Within a few months following that he entered the

Benedictine monastery, Santa Maria de Montserrat. He knelt before and image of the Black

Madonna and laid down his military garments. He then proceeded to give all of his clothes to a

poor man on the street. He began to live a life of poverty because that was what God was calling

him to do. I look up to Ignatius because even after all that had happened to him with his legs, he

was unable to do what he loved which was battle, and now he dropped everything and followed

Christ. This shows that we have to follow what God has in place for us even if its not what we

expect or have planned for ourselves. God calls all of us to follow him and that’s exactly what

Ignatius did.

Ignatius did not have a place to live so he asked the nearby hospital if in exchange for a

place to stay, he would go around and pray with the sick people and perform work. To get food,
he begged. When he was not working or begging he was go to a cave alone and spend one on

one time with Christ through spiritual exercises. This alone time revealed more things about

himself and Christ. He had a better understanding of Gods plan for him when he would pray and

talk to him. The lifestyle that he lived between the hospital and the cave was difficult for him. He

often had doubt and anxiety but then realized that these feelings were not from God. Ignatius

wrote in a journal and his practices are widely used among religious and laity even today.

Ignatius’s main goal was to convert people, but to do this, he felt that he needed a better

education so he went to the University of Paris. When he was there he roomed with Peter Faber

and Francis Xavier. They all quickly became friends and Ignatius began to lead them in spiritual

practices. Soon other men also joined and they called themselves “Friends in the Lord”. Then,

Pope Paul III declared them as an official religious order in 1540 calling themselves the society

of Jesus. All around the world, today, the society of Jesus is known for educating the youth.

Ignatius passed away on July 31, 1556 and he is the patron saint of the Society of Jesus,

education and soldiers.

Prayer to Ignatius of Loyola

Saint Ignatius of Loyola bless us in our studies and protect us in our daily lives

That we may strive to due Gods will and live our lives in accordance with it.

May our actions bring joy to Gods eyes and to those around us.

Keep us safe and healthy all the days of our life.

Bless us and help us to see Gods light in every situation, Amen.

 Works Cited:

“Ignatian Spirituality Finding God in All Things.” Welcome to the Society of Jesus in Canada

and the United States, jesuits.org/spirituality?PAGE=DTN-20130520125033.

Miller, OFM Fr. Don. “Saint Ignatius of Loyola.” Franciscan Media, 19 July 2017,

www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-ignatius-of-loyola/.

Online, Catholic. “St. Ignatius Loyola - Saints & Angels.” Catholic Online, Catholic Online,

www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=56.

“St. Ignatius Loyola.” Ignatian Spirituality, www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/st-

ignatius-loyola.