Ignatius of Loyola

c. 1491 – 31 July 1556

Ignatius of Loyola (c. 1491-1556) was a Spanish Basque priest and theologian who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and served as its first Superior General. A soldier until a battle wound prompted his religious conversion, he composed the Spiritual Exercises, a foundational text of Catholic spirituality. He was canonized in 1622 and is the patron saint of soldiers and spiritual retreats.

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Life events

Born at the castle of Loyola in the Basque Country
c. 1491

Inigo Lopez de Onaz y Loyola was born at his family's ancestral castle in Azpeitia, Gipuzkoa, the youngest of thirteen children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Severely wounded at the Battle of Pamplona
20 May 1521

Serving as a soldier defending Pamplona against the French, Ignatius was struck by a cannonball that shattered his leg, ending his military career.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Religious conversion during convalescence at Loyola
c. 1521

While recovering from his wounds, Ignatius read lives of Christ and the saints and resolved to devote his life to God.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Spiritual retreat at Manresa and beginnings of the Spiritual Exercises
March 1522 – February 1523

Ignatius spent nearly a year in prayer and asceticism at Manresa near the Cardoner River, experiences that formed the basis of his Spiritual Exercises.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Pilgrimage to Jerusalem
1523

Ignatius traveled as a pilgrim to the Holy Land, intending to stay, but was ordered to return to Europe by the Franciscan custodians.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied at the University of Paris
February 1528 – 1535

Ignatius studied philosophy and theology in Paris, where he gathered the companions, including Francis Xavier, who would form the core of the Jesuits.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Vow of Montmartre with his first companions
15 August 1534

Ignatius and six companions vowed poverty, chastity, and a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in a chapel on Montmartre in Paris, a founding moment of the future Society of Jesus.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Papal approval of the Society of Jesus
27 September 1540

Pope Paul III formally approved the Society of Jesus in the bull Regimini militantis Ecclesiae, and Ignatius was elected its first Superior General the following year.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Publication of the Spiritual Exercises
1548

The Spiritual Exercises, developed over decades from his Manresa experiences, received papal approval and was printed in Rome.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Rome
31 July 1556

Ignatius died in Rome, having led the rapidly growing Jesuit order for fifteen years; he was buried in what is now the Church of the Gesu.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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