St. Ignatius

ST. IGNATIUS FEAST DATE WAS JULY 31ST

FACTS ABOUT ST. IGNATIUS

• St. Ignatius was born in the ancestral castle of the Loyolas in the Basque province of Guipúzcoa.
• St. Ignatius became in 1506 a page in the service of a relative, Juan Velázquez de Cuéllar, treasurer of the kingdom of Castile.
• He once allowed the donkey on which he was riding to determine whether he should follow and murder someone he thought had insulted the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Fortunately, the donkey chose the path that led away from the insulter.)
• He thought that his leg had been set poorly after the cannonball incident and that, as a result, he wouldn’t look good in his courtier’s tights. So he had a doctor rebreak his leg and start over!
• He may be the only canonized saint to have a notarized police record—for nighttime brawling with intent to inflict serious harm.
• He was hauled before the Spanish Inquisition on a number of occasions.
• At age 33, he joined a class of young children so he could learn Latin.

Facts about St. Ignatius (continued)

He was hauled before the Spanish Inquisition on a number of occasions. At age 33, he joined a class of young children so he could learn Latin.

The story of St. Ignatius’ life
St. Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491, one of 13 children of a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. In 1521 Ignatius was gravely wounded in a battle with the French. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a conversion. Reading the lives of Jesus and the saints made Ignatius happy and aroused desires to do great things. Ignatius realized that these feelings were clues to God’s direction for him. Over the years, Ignatius became expert in the art of spiritual direction. He collected his insights, prayers, and suggestions in his book the Spiritual Exercises, one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written.

One question I would ask St. Ignatius is, what is like in heaven?

THANK YOU!