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The Life and Work of St. Ignatius of Loyola

© Michelle Powell-Smith

St. Ignatius is remembered both as the founder of the Jesuit order and as the writer of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. While the history of the Jesuit order after its founding will have an article of its own, this article will briefly introduce the reader to the life of St. Ignatius and the initial founding of the Jesuit order.

Inigo de Loyola was born to a wealthy Spanish family in 1491. As a youth, he was known for his love of fighting, gambling, and women. His rowdy youth continued until his thirtieth year when he was quite seriously injured in a battle with the French.

His conversion occurred during his long recovery from his injuries. He had requested romances to read; however, there were none in the castle at Loyola, so he turned to reading religious texts including the Life of Christ and Lives of the Saints. Slowly, he realized that he found peace in his faith rather than in the wordly pursuits that had occupied his life and time prior to his injuries.

When Ignatius recovered from his injuries he set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Along the way, he stopped in a village called Manresa, and there he began work on his Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius completed his journey to the Holy Land, but was forced to leave Jerusalem for reasons of safety.

Upon his return to Spain, he entered various schools and universities, finally studying in Paris. In Paris, Ignatius became a priest, and also joined together with a group of other priests, all following the primitive structure of what would become the Spiritual Exercises.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius focused on not only thought, but also on feeling and emotion to bring the penitent Christian closer to God. The exercises brought about both faith to God and obedience to the church.

The group had hoped to go to Jerusalem, but political and religious conflicts prevented that. They settled together in Rome, and the loosely organized group formed a community, obedient to the superior general, called the Society of Jesus. While the Jesuits took vows of poverty, obedience and chastity as other monks did, they also vowed to travel wherever the pope should send them for whatever duties were needed. The Jesuit order formally came into existence on September 27, 1540 and Ignatius was elected superior general on April 22, 1541.

Ignatius spent the remainder of his life running the Jesuit order.

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