Ignatius of Loyola

Personal Writings

  • Personal Writings

  • One of the key figures in Christian history, St. Ignatius of Loyola (c. 1491-1556) was a passionate and unique spiritual thinker and visionary. The works gathered here provide a first-hand, personal introduction to this remarkable character: a man who turned away from the Spanish nobility to create the revolutionary Jesuit Order, inspired by the desire to help people follow Christ. His Reminiscences describe his early life, his religious conversion following near-paralysis in battle, and his spiritual and physical ordeals as he struggled to assist those in need, including plague, persecution and imprisonment. The Spiritual Exercises offer guidelines to those seeking the will of God, and the Spiritual Diary shows Ignatius in daily mystical contact with God during a personal strugg;e. The Letters collected here provide an insight into Ignatius' ceaseless campaign to assist those seeking enlightenment and to direct the young Society of Jesus.

Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) was trained as a page at the court of Castile. Wounded at the siege of Pamplona in 1521, he underwent a deep conversion, eventually travelling to Jerusalem and beginning to study. He attracted like-minded students and in 1534 they took vows and formed the 'Society of Jesus', popularly known as the Jesuits. From 1540 he was elected Superior General and lived in Rome, organising the astonishing spread of the Jesuits. He was canonized in 1622. Joseph A. Munitiz is Master of Campion Hall, Oxford. Philip Endean lectures in theology at Heythrop College, University of London. He is General Editor of The Way, a journal of contemporary Christian spirituality, sponsored by the Jesuits.

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