Saint15th–16th century · Feast July 31
Also known as Íñigo López de Loyola, Ignatius Loyola
A wounded soldier whose long conversion led him to develop the Spiritual Exercises and found the Society of Jesus.
Íñigo of Loyola pursued honour and military success until a cannonball shattered his leg at Pamplona. During recovery, reading about Christ and the saints exposed the different effects of his desires and began a long conversion. He later studied, gathered companions in Paris and founded the Society of Jesus, shaping a practical tradition of discernment and mission.
Ignatius lived during the Reformation, global exploration and major renewal movements within the sixteenth-century Church.
Discernment of spirits, finding God in all things, imaginative Scripture prayer and generous availability for mission.
Ignatius is ideal for people making decisions, recovering from a disrupted ambition or seeking a practical way to notice God in daily life.
People turn to St Ignatius of Loyola in matters of:
God of wisdom, through St Ignatius’s intercession help us notice the movements of our hearts, choose what leads to you and find you in all things. Amen.
1491
Is born at Loyola
1521
Is wounded at Pamplona and begins a long conversion
1522–1523
Prays and reflects at Manresa
1534
Makes vows with companions at Montmartre
1540
The Society of Jesus receives papal approval
1556
Dies in Rome
Source-quality status: unverified prototype