Ignatian Spiritual Care: Saint Ignatius Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola is best known as the person who founded the Jesuits and whose spiritual insights gave birth to Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises.

As a student at Saint Ignatius' College you know that the cannonball wound he received in battle is actually what led to his conversion experience. Without this conversion, there would be no Jesuits, no Ignatian spirituality.

Listed below are six  facts about St. Ignatius of Loyola that you may not know!

1. He once allowed the donkey on which he was riding to determine whether he should follow and murder someone he thought had insulted the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Fortunately, the donkey chose the path that led away from the insulter.)
    
2. He thought that his leg had been set poorly after the cannonball incident and that, as a result, he wouldn’t look good in his courtier’s tights. So he had a doctor rebreak his leg and start over!
    
3. He may be the only canonized saint to have a notarized police record—for nighttime brawling with intent to inflict serious harm.
    
4. He was hauled before the Spanish Inquisition on a number of occasions.
    
5. At age 33, he joined a class of young children so he could learn Latin.
    
6. He penned over 6,800 letters in his lifetime, making him one of the most prolific letter writers of his time—or any time, for that matter.