St Ignatius of Loyola

St Ignatius is Born.

Dec 24, 1491

St Ignatius is born in Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzoca in Northern Spain. He was born in the castle of Loyola but his mother requested to be taken to the stables. St Ignatius was then born in a stable.

St Ignatius of Loyola

Period: Dec 24, 1491 to Jul 31, 1556

St Ignatius loses his mother.

Jan 1, 1498

While the youngest of thirteen children St Ignatius loses his mother at the young age of seven.

Worked as a page at Arevalo, near Valldolid

Jan 1, 1506

When St Ignatius was sixteen he was sent to serve as a page to Juan Velazquez, the treasurer of the kingdom of Castile.

St Ignatius becomes a soldier.

Nov 10, 1506

Summoned

Jan 1, 1515

St Ignatius was summoned for involvement in a brawl near Loyola.

Financial Ruin

Jan 1, 1517

From the death of St Ignatius's patron he obtains post in the retinue of Antonio Manrique, Duke of Najera and Viceroy of Navarre.

St Ignatius is hit by a cannon ball.

May 20, 1521

Saint Ignatius is hit by a cannon ball in the legs while in battle at the Battle on Pamplona. He injured one of his legs and broke the other one.

St Ignatius becomes an officer.

May 30, 1521

At the age of 30 St Ignatius became an officer defending the fortress of the town of Pamplona against the French.

A Miracle

Jun 29, 1521

Ignatius's leg grew worse and was told by doctors that he should prepare for death. On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul St Ignatius's leg healed, but when it did the bone protruded below the knee and one leg was shorter than the other. All his life he walked with a limp because one leg was shorter than the other.

St Ignatius's Conversion

Jul 1, 1521

Lying in bed Ignatius read the lives of Christ and of the saints for his only recreation and found himself glowing with desire to imitate their virtues.

Pursuing his Faith

Mar 15, 1522

St Ignatius had decided that he wanted to go to Jerusalem to live where our Lord had spent his life on earth.He later left the castle to pursue his newfound faith, he went to confession anf for almost a year he lived in a cave on the banks of a river.

Trouble along the way.

Mar 22, 1522

Along the way St Ignatius meets a Moor and they start arguing about the Blessed Mothers Virginity. The Moor says something insulting which angers St Ignatius. St Ignatius decides to let go of his reins in the direction of the Retreating Moor but instead the mule goes the other way. St Ignatius takes this as sign that this is not what God wanted him to do.

Vow Of Chastity

Mar 23, 1522

During this same trip he was filled with love for the Virgin Mary and bound himself to her by a vow of chastity. When he was given the gift of Chastity he found that all his impure tendencies were vanished.

The future lies ahead.

May 1, 1522

When he reached Montserrat as a new knight of Christ he stayed before the altar of Mary ou Mother where he placed his armament, sword and all signs of his military past to show that that part of his life was over.

Barcelona

Jan 1, 1524

At the age of 33 St Ignatius enrolled himself in a school in Barcelona to study language and grammar because he was unfamiliar with the latin language. After about 2 years, he gained admission in the University of Alcala. While he was still in Barcelona he usually begged for food and money to supply for himselve while he was studying.

University of Alcala

Jan 1, 1526

his over-enthusiastic nature became a problem in this new university. It was not appreciated by the Spanish Inquisition that he would preach about the gospel and teach people how to pray properly so they sent him to prison for about 42 days. Such restrictions made life difficult for Ignatius and he moved to the University of Salamanca.

University of Salamanca

Jan 1, 1527

Even at the University of Salamanca, the Dominicans sent him to jail. It was not as serious as the last charge against Ignatius, he was strictly instructed to teach children only. St Ignatius was not happy with this so he left to Paris.

University of Paris.

Jan 1, 1528

St Ignatius entered the University of Paris where he studied for seven years. He perfected his literary and theological education. He escaped receiving disgraceful punishment from the authorities because he was disturbing the other students by getting them absorbed in the "Spiritual Exercises". He spent his vacations in the Netherlands with his fellow countrymen.

Beaten for doing what is right.

Jan 1, 1533

St Ignatius was hurt and beaten by impure men because of his mission to help abused women live a secure life.

Accused

Jan 1, 1534

St Ignatius was accused and cultimated so he went to jail but there he won many souls with his special fervor. He cried to those who were listening "There are not enough shekels in the city to prevent me from proclaiming the cause of Christ."

St Ignatius's Vows

Aug 5, 1534

In the University St Ignatius greatly influenced a few men intheir faith and taught and helped them with spiritual exercise for thirty day. St Ignatius and the men decided to take vows of chastity and poverty. Even though they were unable to go to the Holy Land they changed their trip to go to Rome instead. They became missionaries of the Pope and he assigned them to preach and teach scripture and theology.

Almost Attacked

Jan 1, 1535

An assassin was sent to attack St Ignatius but stopped when he heard a voice say, "What are you doing, you scoundrel?" Terrified, he abandoned his crime.

St Ignatius performs his first mass

Dec 25, 1538

Moved with his love and honour of being able to perform the mass, St Ignatius cries during it. People attending the mass were very moved by this also. He said the Mass at St. Mary Major, in the Chapel of the Manger.

The Beginning.

Mar 1, 1539

During the following Lent, St Ignatius asked all of his companions to come to Rome to discuss their future. All the companions never thought of founding a religious order. All together they thought about their future and whether they would spend it together. They decided to form a community, after many weeks of prayer and discussion, in which they would vow obedience to a superior general who would hold office for life. They would place themselves as the workers and servants of the Pope.

Approval

Sep 27, 1540

Formal approval of this new order was given by Pope Paul III the following year. In English their order became known as the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was elected on two votes to be superior but was reluctant to become superior and begged them to reconsider. In the end it was Gods will and he accepted his position as superoir to the new order.

Till the End

Apr 22, 1541

On the Friday of Easter week at the Church of St. Paul they pronounced their vows in the newly formed Order.St Ignatius loved being actively involved with this order. he worked hard for the next 15 years until his death. He would work in two small rooms, his bedroom and next to it his office, directing this new society throughout the world. He would spend years composing the Constitutions of the Society and would write thousands of letters to all corners of the globe to his fellow Jesuits.

Till the end.

Period: Apr 22, 1541 to Jul 30, 1556

The End.

Jul 31, 1556

During St Ignatius's student days in Paris, he had been very ill and started suffering from stomach problems. However they did not heal but became worse during his time in Rome. St Ignatius knew the end was near but the physician thought he would survive this summer as he had survived the others. A little after midnight Ignatius became much worse and his soul was put to rest.

Canonization

Mar 12, 1622

St Ignatius was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 on the same day as St. Francis Xavier. Ignatius' feast day is celebrated on July 31.