Íñigo López de Loyola, of purely Basque origin, was born in 1491. He spent his youth in the courtly environment of Castile. While defending the castle of Pamplona, attacked by Francis I of France, he was gravely wounded in both legs. During his long convalescence, as he read the works of Ludolph of Saxony and the Legenda Aurea, he underwent a deep conversion. From that moment, Íñigo resolved to dedicate his life completely to the service of God.
On his way to the Holy Land, he stopped at the monastery of Montserrat, where he embraced the spirituality of the time known as devotio moderna. His experiences there, later deepened at Manresa, became the foundation of what would grow into his famous Spiritual Exercises.
After returning from Palestine, he studied Latin in Barcelona. When he began his ecclesiastical training in Alcalá de Henares and Salamanca, he was questioned by church tribunals, who suspected him of being part of the “alumbrados,” a group considered religiously suspect. He continued his studies of philosophy and theology in Paris, where he changed his name from Íñigo to Ignatius. It was also in Paris that the Society of Jesus was born. The very name of this institution reflects the spirit that inspired its founder. After completing his studies in Venice, Ignatius was ordained a priest there.
When his plans to return to the Holy Land failed, he moved to Rome, which became the center of his apostolic mission. Placing himself at the service of the popes, he devoted himself to organizing the Society of Jesus, which quickly spread under his leadership as its first Superior General.
It is impossible to summarize in a few words the many aspects of his apostolic activity and that of his companions. Though of fragile health and long suffering, Ignatius died unexpectedly in Rome on this day in 1556, at the age of sixty-five. He was canonized in 1622.
For centuries, hagiography sometimes distorted his figure, and prejudices arose from certain forms the order later adopted. Yet careful historical study in recent years has offered us a more balanced portrait of the saint. He must be understood above all through his Christ-centered spirituality: the core of his life and mission was his desire to be conformed to Jesus—the concrete, historical Jesus whom he encountered in prayer, in obedience, and in holiness of life—perhaps more than the risen Christ emphasized in other traditions of spirituality.
We must also view Ignatius through his profound spirit of dedication, his “mysticism of service,” which led him to seek the transformation of the world with optimism and energy, in harmony with the humanism and personalism of his age.
Ignatius is more than a saint of his own time: he marks the beginning of a new era in the Church, in the formation of religious orders and congregations, in apostolic mission, and in the currents of spirituality.
