A valiant soldier before his conversion, St. Ignatius Loyola
founded the Society of Jesus to which the Ranchi Jesuits belong. He is best
known for his "Spiritual Exercises". He was very active in fighting
the Protestant Reformation and promoting the subsequent Counter-Reformation.
He was beatified and then on March 12, 1622, was canonized. His feast day is
July 31. He is the patron saint of the Basque historical territories of Guipuzcoa
and Biscay and the Society of Jesus, among other things.
Ignacio López de Loyola(sometimes erroneously called Íñigo López de Recalde) was born in the municipality of Azpeitia at the castle of Loyola in today's Basque Country of Gipuzkoa.He was baptized Íñigo, after St. Enecus (Innicus), Abbot of Ona. It is unclear when he started using Ignatius instead of his baptismal name "Íñigo". St. Ignatius did not intend to change his name but rather adopted for France and Italy, a name which he believed was a simple variant of his own, and which was more acceptable among foreigners.
The youngest of 13 children, Íñigo was only seven years old when his mother died. In 1506, Íñigo adopted the last name "de Loyola" in reference of the city where he was born and later became a page in the service of a relative, Juan Velázquez de Cuéllar, treasurer (contador mayor) of the kingdom of Castile.
In 1509, Íñigo took up arms for Antonio Manrique de Lara, Duke of Najera and Viceroy of Navarre. According to Thomas Rochford, S.J., his diplomacy and leadership qualities made him a gentilhombre very useful to the Duke.Under the Duke's leadership, he participated in many battles without injury to himself. But when the French army, supporting the Navarrese monarchy expelled in 1512, stormed the Pamplona's fortress on May 20, 1521, a cannonball shot wounded one of his legs and broke the other.Heavily injured, Íñigo was returned to his castle. He was very concerned about the injuries on his leg, and he was exposed (by his own decision) to several surgical operations, which were, at that time, very painful processes.
During this time he read the De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony in a Catalan edition. This work arguably influenced the whole life of Saint Ignatius. It is a commentary on the life of Jesus-Christ, a commentary on the Gospels borrowing extracts from the works of over sixty of the Fathers of the Church. Ludolph particularly quotes St Gregory the Great, St Basil, St Augustine and the Venerable Bede. Ludolph proposes to the reader that he places himself at the scene of the Gospel story; that he visualises the crib at the Nativity etc. This is known as a method of prayer called Simple Contemplation and arguably is the basis of the method that St Ignatius sets out in his Spiritual Exercises
During the time he was recovering, Ignatius read a number of religious texts on the life of Jesus called the Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony [11][12]and the saints and became fired with an ambition to lead a life of self-denying labor and emulate the heroic deeds of Francis of Assisi and other great monastic leaders. He resolved to devote himself to the conversion of non-Christians in the Holy Land. Upon recovery, he visited the Benedictine monastery, Santa Maria de Montserrat (March 25, 1522), where he hung his military vestments before an image of the Virgin. He then went and spent several months in a cave near the town of Manresa, Catalonia where he practiced the most rigorous asceticism. He begged his journey to the Holy Land, as a way of self denial and sacrifice. After that, he studied at the ascetic Collège de Montaigu of the University of Paris, where he remained over seven years. In later life, he was often called "Master Ignatius" in By 1534 he had six key companions, all of whom he met as students at the University—Francis Xavier, Alfonso Salmerons, Diego Laynez, and Nicholas Bobadilla, all Spanish; Peter Faber, a Frenchman; and Simão Rodrigues of Portugal.
Ignatius Loyola was the main creator and initial Superior General of the Society of Jesus, a religious organization of the Catholic Church which agreed straight service to the Pope in conditions of mission. The Members of the organization are called Jesuits. He is famous as the gatherer of the Spiritual Exercises, and he is kept in mind as a talented spiritual director. He was very vigorous in fighting the Protestant Reformation and promoting the following Counter-Reformation. He was beatified and then canonized and received the title of Saint on March 12, 1622.