ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA
FOUNDER OF THE JESUIT ORDER
S. Jagadisan
Inigo Lopez de Loyola was born to wealthy parents in 1491 at Loyola near Azpeitia in the northern most part of Spain. His baptismal name was Inigo, but he chose to call himself Ignatius. Loyola was the name of the manor house and farmland of his ancestors. He entered the household of Juan Velazquez de Cuellar of Castile as a page to be trained for a career in politics, public administration and army. Velazquez introduced him to the court of King Ferdinand where he received training in courtly etiquette, conversation, music, dance and fastidious attention to dress, appearance and bearing. His reading included tales of chivalry and his thoughts centered on amorous and military adventures.
On the death of Velazquez, Inigo joined the service of the Duke of Najera, Viceroy of Navarre. In 1521, the French invaded Navarre and attacked its capital, Pamplona. Inigo offered resistance to the French army. In the course of the six-hour bombardment of the fortress which Inigo tried to defend, a cannon ball struck him, injuring the left leg and breaking the right below the knee. The French were chivalrous enough to give him medical attention and permit him to be carried to his family home at Loyola. The surgeon while setting the limbs shortened the broken leg leaving a large, ugly protrusion on the knee cap. Inigo who desired to return to his sophisticated, romantic lifestyle insisted on further surgery to remove the bump. It was sawed off and the right leg was stretched almost to normal length. Inigo, with his iron will, stood the operation, which was performed without anesthesia.Â
This incident proved to be the turning point in Inigo’s life and brought about a sea change in him. In order to pass time during convalescence, he casually read Ludolph of Saxony’s Life of Christ and Golden Legend, a collection of the lives of saints. As he lost himself in these books, he decided to bid farewell to the allurements of life, become a servant of Christ and emulate the example of Christian saints.
Then began a new chapter in Inigo’s life. Early in
1522, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He took the vow of celibacy and gave away his money and costly clothes. Wearing the pilgrim’s sackcloth, he lead a life of austerity, performed severe, strenuous penance and lived on alms. Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis had a profound influence on him.
He reached Jerusalem in 1523. Since he was not permitted to stay in the Holy Land on a permanent basis, he decided to return to Spain. He devoted himself to study for eleven years (1524-1535), and qualified for a Master’s Degree in Arts from the University of Paris. In 1534, Inigo, with his spiritual magnetism, initially attracted six companions. More joined a year later. These ten formed the nucleus of the original Society of Jesus. They vowed themselves to a life of poverty and service. Inigo resolved to give a permanent formal structure to the Society. A brief draft of the Constitution received the papal approbation. The members of the new order called themselves Jesuits. Ignatius was elected Superior General for life. Till his death in 1556, he organized and supervised numerous educational and missionary activities. He was beatified or declared Blessed in 1609 and canonized in 1622.
±õ²µ²Ô²¹³Ù¾±³Ü²õâ€� magnum opus is Spiritual Exercises written in 1522 in the town Manresa where he stayed for eleven months on his way to Jerusalem. He revised and expanded it till 1514. Spiritual Exercises, a text book on spiritual discipline, formulates a system of rules, prayers and self-examination to train the whole man for Christian life. It is described as a “method of examination of conscience, of vocal and mental prayer, and of other spiritual activities to prepare and dispose the soul to rid itself of all inordinate attachments, and after their removal, to seek and find God’s will concerning the disposition of one’s life for the salvation of the soul.â€� It is said that this book has been published 4500 times in the last four centuries, that is, once a month for four hundred years on an average. The number of copies printed is estimated at
4.5 millions. This testifies to the appeal and impact of the book.
The Exercises include rigorous, conscientious self-analysis through meditation to rid oneself of weaknesses. One should examine one’s conscience scrupulously three times a day � morning, noon and night. Thoughts, speech, action, attitude and manner should be subjected to constant scrutiny to promote inner improvement. The doctrine of surrender enunciated in the Gita, by the Vaishnavite and Saivite saint singers and by Rabindranath Tagore in his songs is echoed in St. Ignatius Loyola’s prayer in Spiritual Exercises. The universal language of religion is the language of the heart. It is that language which we hear in the following passage.
“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my will �
all that I have and possess. You, Lord, have given all that to me. I now give it to you. Dispose of it according to your will. Give me love of yourself along with your Grace, that is enough for me�.