Who is Ignatius?
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was the youngest child of a noble Basque family fiercely loyal to the Spanish crown, and was raised to be a courtier. Trying valiantly to defend the fortress town of Pamplona in 1521, a French cannonball shattered his leg and led him to reconsider his way of life. While he recuperated from his wounds at the family estate, he had only two books to read, the Life of Christ and the Lives of the Saints. The books he read and the daydreams he entertained had a great effect on him, so much so that he decided to lay aside his sword of war and take up what he called the “sword of Christ.” This change in life plans led him to seek an education at the University of Paris. There, he formed a circle of friends who, with time, decided to band together and dedicate themselves to the greater glory of God and the good of all people. When their efforts to go to the Holy Land met with disappointment, they decided to place themselves at the service of the Pope, who could se
