The Life of Saint Ignatius RERC P4 June RERC P4 June

Ignatius was born in 1491 in Spain. He was the youngest of 14 children. At the age of 16 he was sent to work for the treasurer of the Kingdom of Castile. He did not always lead a good life and would drink and gamble too much. He would also challenge people to sword fights.

Eventually when he was 30 years old, while serving as an officer in the Spanish army, he was struck by a canon ball while in battle against the French. He was badly wounded. One of his legs was severely damaged and the other was broken. Medicine was very different back in those days and the doctors thought the Ignatius would die from his injuries. But then……………………….A MIRICLE! On the feast of Saint Peter and Paul (29 th June) Ignatius’ leg miraculously healed.

Ignatius still required time to recover and the accident had left him with a limp. He was bored and asked for some books to read to help pass the time. He was given a book about Jesus Christ and the lives of the Saints. This was the beginning of his conversion. He left his bad ways behind and decided to be more like Jesus and the Saints that he had read about. But what could he do?

He decided to travel to Jerusalem. This was a long way away and there was no transportation. Before leaving he visited a church where he prayed all night at the altar of Our Lady. There is left behind his sword. He swapped his fine clothes for rags and shoes for sandals and made way to the first step on his journey, Barcelona.

From Barcelona he went on to Rome where he met the Pope who gave him permission to visit the Holy Land including Jerusalem. When he arrived the situation there for Catholics was very dangerous and he was forced to return to Barcelona. He decided to study Latin so that he could become a priest. While studying he talked to people and told them gospel stories about Jesus Christ. People in authority didn’t like this and he was thrown into jail. When he was released he was told not to teach anyone else about Jesus.

Ignatius moved to France to study at the University of Paris. At the age of 33 he was ordained a priest in Rome and the Pope put him to work teaching scripture. He and some of his friends who were also priest decided to get together and set up a kind of club known as ‘The Society of Jesus’. Today they are known as ‘The Jesuits’. Ignatius wrote over 7000 letters to others teaching about God’s love. He and the other Jesuits visited the sick in hospital, taught children and helped the poor.

He died in Rome on 31 st July 1556 of a fever. He is remembered mostly today as the founder of the Jesuits. Jesuits Today