31/07/2024
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Today, we are celebrating the memorial of the superior General of the society of Jesus, none other than St. Ignatius of Loyola. All would agree that there are many interesting facts about him, and here are some of it.
1. He is the youngest of 13 children of a noble and wealthy family.
โInigo de Loyola was born in 1491 in Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern Spain. He was the youngest of thirteen children. At the age of sixteen years he was sent to serve as a page to Juan Velazquez, the treasurer of the kingdom of Castile
2. St. Francis Xavier became one of his closest friends.
St. Francis Xavier, one of St. Ignatius Loyola's closest friends and an original founding companion of the Society of Jesus, is most honored by the Catholic Church, other Christian churches, and the Jesuit order for his missionary accomplishments particularly in India, Southeast Asia and Japan.
3. Saint Ignatius of Loyola wanted to be a great soldier, but God had a different plan in mind;
In May of 1521, at the age of thirty, Ignatius found him self as an officer who was in charge of defending Pamplona against the French. Outnumbered, his commander wanted to surrender, but Ignatius convinced him to โfight on for the honor of Spain, if not for victory.โ During this battle, a cannon ball struck Ignatius, wounding one leg and severely mutilating the other. The French soldiers, admiring Ignatiusโs great courage, carried him to his home in Loyola to recuperate, rather than to prison.
4. The cannonball wound he received in battle is actually what led to his conversion experience;
During this time of healing, Ignatius asked for romance novels to pass the time, but since none could be found, he was given a copy of the Life of Christ and a book on the saints. Desperate, Ignatius read them and decided that the lives of the saints were far more fascinating than any romance novel. Ignatius began to notice that after reading about the lives of the saints and Christ, he was at peace and felt satisfied, whereas, after his long daydreams of fame, fortune, and romance, he would feel restless and unsatisfied. The beginning of his conversion also laid the ground work for his most well known work, his guide to spiritual discernment, also known as his Spiritual Exercises.
5. He is the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits.)
Pope Paul III accepted Ignatius and his friends as an official religious order, the Society of Jesus, in 1540. After two deeply discerned, unanimous elections, and group insistence, Ignatius humbly accepted the honor of being the first leader, though he declined at first because he โhad not lived a worthy life in his youth . . . and others were more experienced theologically.โ
Ignatius imposed a strict rule on his order, which was expected to be a deterrent for new members, but the order grew rapidly.
6. He is the patron saint of soldiers, and all spiritual retreats.
He was beatified and then canonized to receive the title of Saint on March 12, 1622. His feast day is July 31, celebrated annually. He is the patron saint of soldiers as well as of the Society of Jesus.
Credits to. HUGOT SEMINARISTA
.InatiusOfLoyola
Sources:
(1) St. Ignatius LoyolaโCatholic Online (Retrieved on July 25, 2021);
(2) WHO WAS ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA?โXavier Mission (Retrieved on July 25, 2021);
(3) Biography of St. Ignatius LoyolaโLoyola University Chicago (Retrieved on July 25, 2021);
(4) A Brief Biography of St. Ignatius of LoyolaโIgnatian Solidarity Network (Retrieved on July 25, 2021);
(5) The Life of St. Ignatius of LoyolaโJesuits Org (Retrieved on July 25, 2021);
(6) ๐ท Pinterest
