Saint Ignatius of Loyola

I was born in 1491 into a noble family in Spain. As a young man, I was enchanted by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great things. In 1521, I was gravely injured in a battle with the French. A cannonball crushed my leg. While recuperating, I experienced a conversion. I read about the life of Jesus and the saints. The idea of doing something similar felt very attractive and gave me the desire to do great things for God. At the age of 30, I went to school to study. In 1540, we founded the Society of Jesus – the Jesuits. Soon, a group of six men joined my mission.Our brothers went around the world as missionaries. I became an expert in the art of spiritual direction because of my personal experience with God; which lead me in writing my well-known book, “The Spiritual Exercises”.