St. Ignatius
of Loyola
A Basque soldier whose long convalescence turned him from arms to the service of Christ.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me.
The Spiritual Exercises, the Suscipe Documented
Soldier turned founder of the Society of Jesus, author of the Spiritual Exercises
Ignatius was a Basque nobleman and soldier whose leg was shattered by a cannonball at Pamplona in 1521. During his recovery, with only lives of Christ and the saints to read, he underwent a conversion that produced the Spiritual Exercises and, in time, the Society of Jesus, an order that would shape education, missions, and the Catholic renewal of the sixteenth century.
Born in 1491 at the castle of Loyola in the Basque country, Íñigo was raised for a soldier's life. At the siege of Pamplona in 1521 a cannonball broke his leg, and during a long, painful convalescence he read the only books at hand, a life of Christ and a collection of saints' lives. He noticed that daydreams of worldly glory left him empty while thoughts of following Christ left him at peace, the seed of his later teaching on the discernment of spirits.
He withdrew to a cave near Manresa, where months of prayer, fasting, and interior trial gave rise to the Spiritual Exercises, a guided retreat of prayer and self-examination. He then studied, gathered companions at the University of Paris, and in 1540 won papal approval for the Society of Jesus, marked by obedience, mobility, and readiness to be sent anywhere for the good of souls.
As the first superior general, Ignatius governed the rapidly growing order from Rome, founding schools and sending men such as Francis Xavier to the ends of the earth. He died in Rome in 1556 and was canonized in 1622.
Ignatius gave the Church the Spiritual Exercises, still used in retreats worldwide, and the Society of Jesus, whose schools, universities, and missions reshaped Catholic life. His teaching on discernment and on finding God in all things remains central to Ignatian spirituality.
A life, in years and approximate ages.
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c. 1491BirthBirth at LoyolaÍñigo López de Loyola is born to a noble Basque family at the castle of Loyola. He is raised for the life of a courtier and soldier.
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c. 1521About 30Wounded at PamplonaA cannonball shatters Ignatius's leg at the siege of Pamplona. During a long convalescence, reading lives of Christ and the saints, he begins his conversion.
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c. 1522About 31Manresa and the ExercisesWithdrawing to a cave near Manresa, Ignatius spends months in prayer, penance, and interior trial. From this time comes the heart of the Spiritual Exercises.
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c. 1534About 43First Companions at ParisAt the University of Paris, Ignatius gathers his first companions, including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, who bind themselves by vow at Montmartre.
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c. 1540About 49The Society of Jesus ApprovedPope Paul III confirms the Society of Jesus. Ignatius is chosen its first superior general and governs the order from Rome, founding schools and sending missionaries abroad.
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c. 1556About 64Death in RomeIgnatius dies in Rome on July 31. The order he leaves behind already numbers about a thousand members across Europe and the missions. He is canonized in 1622.
Dates are approximate where the surviving record is traditional or incomplete.
One place where this witness remains visible.
Church of the Gesù, Rome
The mother church of the Jesuits holds the tomb of Saint Ignatius in the Chapel of Saint Ignatius, one of the most richly decorated chapels in Rome. Pilgrims pray here before the founder of the Society of Jesus.
Where the body is venerated.
Ignatius is buried in Rome, in the Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the Society of Jesus. His tomb stands in an ornate chapel beneath an altar of marble, bronze, and lapis lazuli, in the left transept of the church.
The saint is publicly venerated at a named tomb.
Church of the Gesù, Rome
The mother church of the Jesuits holds the tomb of Saint Ignatius in the Chapel of Saint Ignatius, one of the most richly decorated chapels in Rome. Pilgrims pray here before the founder of the Society of Jesus.
- Tomb of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, beneath the altar of his chapel
The chapel is in the left transept. The nearby rooms where Ignatius lived and died are also open to pilgrims.
Kindred witnesses
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Saint Francis Xavier
One of his first companions in Paris, sent east as a missionary and one of the great evangelizers of Asia. -
Saint Teresa of Ávila
A contemporary of the Spanish Catholic renewal, whose reform of Carmel ran alongside the rise of the Jesuits. -
Saint Thomas Aquinas
The theologian whose thought Ignatius set as a foundation of Jesuit study.
Kept on July 31.
July 31, the day of his death, is Ignatius's feast, kept across the Jesuit world and in the many schools and parishes under his patronage. It often marks the close of Ignatian retreats and the renewal of vows.
His tomb is in Rome, in the Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the Jesuits. The Sanctuary of Loyola in the Basque country and the cave at Manresa, where he wrote the Exercises, are the other great Ignatian pilgrimage sites.