Saint Ignatius
A Spaniard by birth, born in the Castle of Loyola. He was a soldier and received a severe bullet wound in the leg while serving in Pamplona. During his convalescence he read the Flower of the Saints and the Life of Christ. This led him to embrace religious life. One night he had a vision of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms. He composed his Spiritual Exercises for those wishing to develop their spiritual life. He begged his way to the Holy Land, reaching Jerusalem in 1523. Through future studies and travel he gathered a small band of disciples including St Francis Xavier. On the Feast of the Assumption in the Chapel of St Denis de Montmarte, they vowed to serve God in any way the Pope might command. They resolved to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and then Rome. On his way to Rome he had a vision of Jesus , carrying a heavy cross, and surrounded by light. This persuaded him to call his brotherhood the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. Pope Paul III appointed ten men to the new order, with St Ignatius as their leader or “general.” He grew his order for 15 years from ten to over one thousand members. St Ignatius died suddenly in 1556 and was beatified shortly thereafter. He was canonized in 1628. The symbol of St Ignatius is a heard crowned with thorns. His feast day is celebrated July 31. (Brockhampton Reference, 1996) Photo from Il Gesu in Rome, Italy, 2025.