CrucisSt. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491 at the castle of Loyola in the Basque region of Spain, and died on 31 July 1556 in Rome. A courtier and soldier in his early years, his life turned decisively in 1521 when a cannonball shattered his leg at the siege of Pamplona. During his long convalescence, having only lives of Christ and the saints to read, he experienced a conversion and resolved to devote himself entirely to God. Withdrawing to a cave at Manresa, he underwent profound spiritual experiences that bore fruit in his Spiritual Exercises, a program of prayer and discernment still widely used today.
After studies in Spain and Paris, he gathered a small band of companions and in 1540 founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), an order devoted to education, missionary work, and service to the pope. Under his leadership as its first Superior General, the Jesuits spread rapidly across Europe and to the mission fields of Asia and the Americas. Marked by the motto Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam ('For the Greater Glory of God'), he was canonized in 1622 and is honored as patron of retreats and spiritual exercises.
Selected quotes
“Go where you are sent, serve where you are needed, love where you are planted — this is the fullness of the apostolic calling.”
“To do all things for the greater glory of God is to turn even the most ordinary act into an offering of eternal worth.”
“Strive always for the greater good, the more perfect path, the deeper surrender; mediocrity has no place in the service of an infinite God.”