Baptismal Name: Inigo
Name change: Changed his name to Ignatius, after St. Ignatius of Antioch who had a love for martyrdom and the Holy See.
Birth: December 14, 1491; the great castle of Loyola in Guipuzcoa, in the Basque country (northwest Spain)
Feast Day: July 31st
Founder of: the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)
Known for: his deep understanding of the spiritual life and discernment of the spirits, his humility and intelligence, starting universities and his apostolic zeal.
Relationship to a saint: St. Ignatius of Loyola had a fundamental role in the conversion of St. Francis Xavier, who later became one of the first Jesuits
Main works: Spiritual Exercises
Patron Saint of: Jesuits, retreats, and soldiers.
Imitate the saint: Work hard and do your best, strive to be humble and do everything for the greater glory of God, seek out solid spiritual formation, courageously defend the truth, resist temptations of the world and urge others, by word and example, to live a truly Christian life.
Did you know? St. Ignatius became bed-ridden after a cannon ball injury incurred during the French besiege of the citadel of Pamplona. Where he was being cared for, there were no novels on chivalry, which he loved to read. So instead, Ignatius read a book on the lives of the saints and Life of Christ, which inspired his conversion.

свернуть