Today (31 July), we celebrate the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.
An inspirational figure, he underwent a transformative spiritual conversion in the 1520s as he recovered from a cannonball wound, choosing to devote his life to God.
From his seminal Spiritual Exercises – a collection of prayers and meditations – to the formation of the Society of Jesus, Ignatius has had a lasting legacy.
But here are a few things you might not know about him…
- Ignatius realised it is never too late to learn new skills and, at the age of 33, joined a classroom of children to study Latin.
- He was so moved by Mass that he would sometimes cry uncontrollably – so much so that he feared he could go blind.
- Ignatius loved a letter: he wrote around 6,800 during his lifetime!
- He was unsatisfied with the initial surgery on his cannonball injury that he ordered the doctors to re-break his leg and try again.
- Spookily, the day Ignatius died was exactly eight years after Pope Paul III had approved his Spiritual Exercises.
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