STORY: Saint Ignatius is best known as the founder of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. He is also the author of the “Spiritual Exercises”, a series of structured meditations for retreat. He grew up in Spain, the youngest of 13 children and became a soldier and was good at dueling. He was wounded in battle and discovered the lives of the Saints when he was recovering. This changed his life and he went on to become a priest and found a religious order alongside St. Peter Faber and St. Francis Xavier. The order grew rapidly, focused on education, and still exists today.

PATRON OF: Society of Jesus, soldiers, educators and education

FEAST DAY: July 31

DATES: 1491 – 1556

SOURCE: St. Ignatius of Loyola at Catholic.org

READ MORE: St. Ignatius of Loyola at Catholic Encyclopedia

Image attribution: See page for author, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons