Remembering St. Ignatius of Loyola

Saint Ignatius was born in the year 1491, to a noble family in the Basque country of Spain. He was the youngest of 13 children and was only seven when his mother died.

He became a soldier, he was at the age of 29, when a cannonball shattered his leg, while they are fighting against the French who were attacking Pamplona, and because of this he apparently spent a year in bed recovering from his wounds.

When he was 30, Ignatius turned back from working as a soldier to work as a missionary for God. During that year, Ignatius read the Bible and the life about of saints.

He then, discovered new work, he found God in all things through reading his bible. “He would do everything, for the greater glory of God.” He visited a monastery, where he took his military clothing and weapons and laid them before an image of the Blessed Mother.

All throughout, Ignatius actions, decisions, and plans would bring the good news of God’s love to others. And at the age of 30, Ignatius went back to school to learn more about his faith. Later on a group of six men gathered with him .and in 1540, the seven together became the Society of Jesus—the Jesuits. And Ignatius became their leader.

Ignatius then sent Jesuits around the world to build schools and colleges to teach people how to work for God. The Jesuits became missionaries and spread the good news of God’s love far and wide. They followed Ignatius’s 1548 book, Spiritual Exercises. In that way, they grew closer to God by using God’s gifts and grace.

It was in the year of 1556, when Saint Ignatius died at the age 65, in the city of Rome. He was canonized by Pope Gregory XV in March 12, 1622. He is a patron saint of Catholic soldiers, and his Feast Day was celebrated every 31st day of July, many Jesuit schools and universities throughout the world are a tribute to his work and his everlasting faith. (Melvic Villamor)