St. Ignatius of Loyola
1491-1556
📅 Feast Day: Jul 31
📖 Life Timeline
1491
Born in Basque country, Spain
1521
Wounded at Pamplona; conversion
1540
Founding of Jesuits approved by Pope
1556
Dies in Rome
✝ Biography
Born Iñigo de Loyola on Nov 1491 at the family castle in Loyola, Basque province of Guipuzcoa, Spain. A courtier and soldier in the army of Navarre. Wounded at the siege of Pamplona on May 20, 1521 by a French cannonball, breaking both legs. During his long convalescence at Loyola, he read 'The Life of Christ' by Ludolph of Saxony and 'The Golden Legend,' which sparked his conversion. Performed penance at the shrine of Our Lady of Manresa, where he experienced mystical visions and composed his 'Spiritual Exercises'—a method of prayer and retreat still used worldwide. Studied grammar at Barcelona with children to humble his pride. Earned a master's degree at Paris (1535). While at Paris, six companions (including St Francis Xavier) formed a bond to serve God, vowing poverty and chastity and promising to go to Jerusalem or obey the Pope. Taking the name Society of Jesus (Jesuits), they received papal approval from Pope Paul III in 1540. Ignatius was elected first Superior General. Founded colleges, missions, and seminaries across Europe and Asia. Known for the maxim 'Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam' (For the Greater Glory of God). Died July 31, 1556 in Rome. Canonized in 1622. Patron of retreats and Spiritual Exercises.
🛡 Patronage
Patron of: Jesuits, soldiers, retreats, spiritual direction, and discernment.
💬 Words of the Saint
Find God in all things.
📜 Key Facts
Born
November 26, 1491, Loyola, Spain
Died
July 31, 1556, Rome
Feast Day
Jul 31
Canonized
1622 by Pope Gregory XV
🕊 Legacy
The Jesuits became the most influential religious order, with 16,000+ members worldwide. They founded universities and missions globally. Pope Francis is a Jesuit.
📜 Personal Writings
Read excerpts from the saint's own words — their personal letters, spiritual writings, and teachings.
📖 Spiritual Exercises (Espirituales Ejercicios)
Spiritual Exercises: Preface
Preface iii Preparatory Consideration 1 FIRST DAY First Meditation—End of Man 8 Second Meditation—End of Creatures 12 Consideration—End of the Religious Life 14 Third Meditation—Indifference to Creatures 20 SECOND DAY First Meditation—Sin 26 Second Meditation—One’s Own Sins 30 Consideration—Confession of the Retreat 33 Third Meditation—Eternal Loss 37 THIRD DAY First Meditation—Preparation for Death 42 Second Meditation—The Particular Judgment 44 Consideration—Purity of Conscience 48 Third Meditation—To Excite Perfect Contrition 53 FOURTH DAY First Meditation—The Kingdom of Christ 57 Second Meditation—The Incarnation 60 Consideration—The Imitation of Christ 64 Third Meditation—The Birth of Christ 70 FIFTH DAY First Meditation—The Flight Into Egypt 74 Second Meditation—The Private Life of Christ 77 Consideration—The Imitation of Christ’s Private Life 81 Third Meditation—The Public Life of Christ 87 SIXTH DAY First Meditation—The Two Standards 91 Second Meditation—The Three Degrees of Humility 94 Consideration—Temptations 97 Third Meditation—Three Classes of Men 102 SEVENTH DAY First Meditation—The Sufferings of Christ in the Garden 106 Second Meditation—Christ’s Sufferings Before His Judges 109 Consideration—Generosity in the Service of God 112 Third Meditation—The Death of Christ 118 EIGHTH DAY First Meditation—The Resurrection of Christ 121 Second Meditation—Christ’s Ascension into Heaven 124 Consideration—The Spirit of Love 127 Third Meditation—Divine Love 133 INDEX TO TRID
— St. Ignatius of Loyola
📖 Spiritual Exercises
Principle and Foundation
Principle and Foundation_.” Christ bids us act like “a wise man that built his house upon a rock,—and it fell not because it was founded on a rock” (St. Matth. vii, 24). The truth now considered is the rock on which the whole structure of our spirituality is to be built. Bartoli, in his life of St. Ignatius, narrates that a learned Doctor of the University of Paris, Martin Olave, used to say that one single hour spent in meditating on this foundation had taught him more than long years of theological studies. Such too has been the experience of many others. Father Everard Mercurian spoke of this foundation as alone sufficient to effect the most astonishing changes in a soul, by uprooting all its earthly affections and directing its desires to God alone. THE FIRST MEDITATION On the End of Man The first part of the Foundation is: “_Man was created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul._” To begin any of our meditations well, St. Ignatius bids us stand, for the space of a _Pater Noster_, one or two paces from the place at which we are to meditate, and with our mind raised on high, consider how God looks down upon us, and then adore Him with an act of reverence and self-humiliation. Then follows the _Preparatory Prayer_, which is also the same for all the meditations.
— St. Ignatius of Loyola
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