Early Life of Ignatius…

• Born of noble parents in 1491 at the Castle of Loyola in the Basque region of northern Spain

• Ignatius = youngest of 13 children… • The young Ignatius = dreams of being a valiant

soldier…

While in Battle…

• Battle of Pamplona in 1521

• St Ignatius of Loyola = seriously wounded by a cannon ball while defending the Spanish against French invaders in Pamplona, Spain.

While in Battle…• His right leg was broken during the battle… • French = admired his courage… then He

was then sent back to his home in Loyola.

While Recovering…

• While his long and painful recovery at Loyola, he read “The Life of Christ” and “Lives of Saints…”

• Disappointed at first, but eventually the books set his heart on fire!

• His worldly and vain desires were soon transformed into what God desired of him!

While Recovering…• He was Inspired by a life of Christ as well as by the

lives of the saints. • He found the biographies of saints like Francis of

Assisi…• Their inspiring lives moved Ignatius to work for God!

While Discerning at Manresa…• After recovering = Ignatius wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. • But shorter spiritual journeys first…• One was to the famous Shrine of Our Lady at Montserrat, near

Barcelona.• Saw the Virgin Mary and Baby…• Spent several months in personal prayer (1522-23), living the life of a poor

pilgrim and hermit in a cave at a small nearby town called Manresa.

While Discerning…

• At Manresa, began writing notes for the Spiritual Exercises (1548).

• For almost a year, at Manresa, through mystical experiences, became more sensitive to how God wanted him to serve his people…

• He was drawn to serve God and so he continued on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

While Traveling…• Rome (1523) = received the Pope’s permission to make a

pilgrimage to Jerusalem (to convert Muslims…?) • September 1523 = deeply moved in visiting the many places

made holy by Jesus' living presence. • But the dangers from the Turks/Muslims cut his stay short,

which disappointed him deeply = and the Franciscans sent him back to Spain…

To Serve God Requires Knowledge• Often preached to groups assembled by chance…• In those days a layman preaching on his own, without a

license or supervision, was automatically suspected of heresy...

• Ignatius was twice imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition (began in 1478)…which was to establish church orthodoxy!

To Serve God Requires Knowledge• They questioned his

competence to teach and preach about God and Christianity.

• Studies in Alcala and Salamanca, and eventually at the University of Paris where he obtained his Master in Arts.

• Age 33 in Barcelona = only one in Latin class with a beard…

• In Paris, he gave the Spiritual

Exercises…enter Francis Xavier and Peter Faber (talk about these people later on…)

Vision At La Storta…

• 1537 = the companions decided to go to Rome = to be at the disposal of the Holy Father (the pope)

• A few miles from the Holy City, at La Storta, Ignatius had a vision where God the Father "placed him with His Son" carrying His cross.

• In this vision, Ignatius felt that he and his friends were called to be companions of Christ!

The Founding of The Jesuit Order

• St Ignatius and his companions = sure that God’s will was to form a religious order...

• Pope Paul III approved their petition on the 27th of September in 1540 in Rome

The Pope Missions the Jesuits

• From the beginning, St Ignatius and his companions offered themselves to serve the Pope ANYWHERE in the world, for God’s greater glory!

• This still applies today…• Where do we fit, as students

in a Jesuit school?