SAINT IGNATIUS LOYOLA

SAINT IGNATIUS LOYOLA




Saint Ignatius
Was the youngest of eleven children
Of a Basque nobleman


He always wanted
To be a soldier
But was wounded in a battle in 1521


His broken leg was badly set
Was broken again and reset


After a bad surgery
He was left deformed
And walked with a limp
For the rest of his life


While recuperating
He wanted to read romantic stories
About knights


Instead he was given books
About the life of Christ
And some books
About the legends of Saints


His conversion followed


He decided to study Latin
And work for souls
And later studied Philosophy
For three years


He lived a life of Holiness
And while still a layman
He was imprisoned
For being a heretic


He gathered 6 disciples
And they took
Vows of chastity to serve the church
And in 1540 were given Papal approval


He was elected the first general
And for 15 years
He inspired-counseled
And directed with prudence and understanding


The group he founded
Was the Jesuits
And their educational words
Helped refute attacks
By Lutherans and Calvinists


Their work
Was modern and progressive


The Jesuits
Were prominent in the foreign missions
And one of their early pioneers
Was saint Francis Xavier


The Jesuits
Were generous with their allocation
Of time-money-and personnel
To this cause---foreign missions


Ignatius did much work
And founded houses for converted Jews
And for fallen women


Ignatius died on July 31^st ( his feast day ), 1556
And by then
The Jesuits numbered over 1,000
And were in nine European countries
Besides working in the foreign missions


He is the patron
Of spiritual exercises and retreats
And the patron
For many schools, churches, and colleges


Robert P. Wallman
7-31-12
Ps 7-31-18