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.
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.
Ignatius’ 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.”
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 back to you. Dispose of it according to your will. Give me love of yourself
along with your Grace, that is enough for me”.