Ignatius de Loyola

Ignatius de Loyola

Ignatius de Loyola was born in 1491 in Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern Spain. He was the youngest of thirteen children. When Ignatius turned sixteen years old, he was sent to be a page to Juan Velazquez, the treasurer of the kingdom of Castile. Since he became one of the Velazquez households, he was often at court and he liked to be there, especially with the ladies. He became addicted to gambling and engaging in.

In May of 1521, Ignatius was thirty years old. He was an officer defending the fortress town of Pamplona against the French, who claimed the territory as their own against Spain. The Spaniards were outnumbered and the commander of the Spanish forces wanted to surrender, but Ignatius convinced them to fight on for the honor of Spain, even if they did not win. During the battle, a cannon ball struck Ignatius' leg, wounding one and breaking the other. The French soldiers admired his courage and carried him back to recuperate at his home, the castle of Loyola, rather than to prison. His leg was set but did not heal, so it was necessary to break it again and reset it. Ignatius grew worse and was finally told by the doctors that he should prepare for death. However, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which is June 29th, Ignatius took an unexpected turn for the better.

During the long weeks of his recuperation, he was extremely bored and asked for some romance novels to pass the time. Since there were not any romance novels in the castle, Ignatius was given a copy of the life of Christ book, and a book about the saints. Since Ignatius had nothing else to do, he began to read the books. As he read the books, he felt he wanted to imitate the saints. However...

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...s near. On the afternoon of July 30th, he asked Polanco to go and get the Pope's blessing for him. Polanco trusted the physician more than Ignatius and told him that he had a lot of letters to write and mail that day and that he would go for the Pope's blessing the next day. Though Ignatius indicated that he would prefer if he went that afternoon, he did not insist. Shortly after midnight, Ignatius took a turn for the worse. Polanco rushed off to the Vatican to get the papal blessing, but it was too late. The former worldly noble and soldier who had turned his gaze to another court and a different type of battle had rendered his soul into the hands of God. Ignatius was beatified on July 27, 1609 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 together with St. Francis Xavier. The universal Church celebrates Ignatius' feast day on July 31, the day he died.