Saint Ignatius Popular Books
Saint Ignatius Biography & Facts
Ignatius of Loyola ( ig-NAY-shəss; Basque: Ignazio Loiolakoa; Spanish: Ignacio de Loyola; Latin: Ignatius de Loyola; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; c. 23 October 1491 – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and became its first Superior General, in Paris in 1541. Ignatius envisioned the purpose of the Society of Jesus to be missionary work and teaching. In addition to the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty of other religious orders in the church, Loyola instituted a fourth vow for Jesuits of obedience to the Pope, to engage in projects ordained by the pontiff. Jesuits were instrumental in leading the Counter-Reformation. As a former soldier, Ignatius paid particular attention to the spiritual formation of his recruits and recorded his method in the Spiritual Exercises (1548). In time, the method has become known as Ignatian spirituality. He was beatified in 1609 and was canonized as a saint on 12 March 1622. His feast day is celebrated on 31 July. He is the patron saint of the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay as well as of the Society of Jesus. He was declared the patron saint of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. Early life Ignatius of Loyola was born Iñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola in the castle at Loyola, in the municipality of Azpeitia, Gipuzkoa, in the Basque region of Spain. His parents, Don Beltrán Ibáñez de Oñaz y Loyola and Doña María (or Marina) Sáenz de Licona y Balda, who were of the minor nobility, from the clan of Loyola, were involved in the Basque war of the bands. Their manor house was demolished on the orders of the King of Castile in 1456 for their depredations in Gipuzkoa, with Iñigo's paternal grandfather being expelled to Andalusia by Henry IV. Íñigo was the youngest of their thirteen children. Their eldest son, Juan Pérez, had soldiered in forces commanded by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, but died fighting in the Italian Wars (1494–1559). He was baptized "Íñigo" on honour of Íñigo of Oña, Abbot of Oña; the name also is a medieval Basque diminutive for "My little one". It is not clear when he began using the Latin name "Ignatius" instead of his baptismal name "Íñigo". Historian Gabriel María Verd says that Íñigo did not intend to change his name, but rather adopted a name which he believed was a simple variant of his own, for use in France and Italy where it was better understood. Íñigo adopted the surname "de Loyola" in reference to the Basque village of Loyola where he was born. Soon after the birth of Íñigo, his mother died. Maternal care fell to María de Garín, the wife of the local blacksmith. In 1498, his second eldest brother, Martin, heir to the estate, took his new wife to live in the castle, and she became mistress of the household. Later, the seven-year-old boy Íñigo returned to Casa Loyola. Anticipating his possible ecclesiastic career, Don Beltrán had Íñigo tonsured. Military career Instead, Íñigo became a page in the service of a relative, Juan Velázquez de Cuéllar, treasurer (contador mayor) of the kingdom of Castile. During his time in the household of Don Velázquez, Íñigo took up dancing, fencing, gambling, the pursuit of the young ladies, and duelling. Íñigo was keen on military exercises and was driven by a desire for fame. He patterned his life after the stories of El Cid, the knights of Camelot, The Song of Roland and other tales of romantic chivalry. He joined the army at seventeen, and according to one biographer, he strutted about "with his cape flying open to reveal his tight-fitting hose and boots; a sword and dagger at his waist". According to another he was "a fancy dresser, an expert dancer, a womanizer, sensitive to insult, and a rough punkish swordsman who used his privileged status to escape prosecution for violent crimes committed with his priest brother at carnival time." In 1509, aged 18, Íñigo took up arms for Antonio Manrique de Lara, 2nd Duke of Nájera. His diplomacy and leadership qualities earned him the title "servant of the court", and made him very useful to the Duke. Under the Duke's leadership, Íñigo participated in many battles without injury. However at the Battle of Pamplona on 20 May 1521 he was gravely injured when a French-Navarrese expedition force stormed the fortress of Pamplona, and a cannonball ricocheting off a nearby wall fractured his right leg. Íñigo was returned to his father's castle in Loyola, where, in an era before anesthetics, he underwent several surgical operations to repair the leg, with his bones set and rebroken. In the end, the operations left his right leg shorter than the other. He would limp for the rest of his life, with his military career over. Religious conversion and visions While recovering from surgery, Íñigo underwent a spiritual conversion and discerned a call to the religious life. In order to divert the weary hours of convalescence, he asked for the romances of chivalry, his favourite reading, but there were none in the castle, and instead, his beloved sister-in-law, Magdalena de Araoz brought him the lives of Christ and of the saints. The religious work which most particularly struck him was the De Vita Christi of Ludolph of Saxony. This book would influence his whole life, inspiring him to devote himself to God and follow the example of Francis of Assisi and other great monks. It also inspired his method of meditation, since Ludolph proposes that the reader place himself mentally at the scene of the Gospel story, visualising the crib at the Nativity, etc. This type of meditation, known as Simple Contemplation, was the basis for the method that Ignatius outlined in his Spiritual Exercises. Aside from dreaming about imitating the saints in his readings, Íñigo was still wandering off in his mind about what "he would do in service to his king and in honour of the royal lady he was in love with". Cautiously he came to realize the after-effects of both kinds of his dreams. He experienced desolation and dissatisfaction when the romantic heroism dream was over, but, the saintly dream ended with much joy and peace. It was the first time he learned about discernment. After he had recovered sufficiently to walk again, Íñigo resolved to begin a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to "kiss the earth where our Lord had walked", and to do stricter penances. He thought that his plan was confirmed by a vision of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus he experienced one night, which resulted in much consolation to him. In March 1522, he visited the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat. There, he carefully examined his past sins, confessed, gave his fine clothes to the poor he met, wore a "garment of sack-cloth", then hung his sword and dagger at the Virgin's altar during an overnight vigil at the shrine. From Montserrat he walked on to the nearby town of Manresa (Catalonia), where he.... Discover the Saint Ignatius popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Saint Ignatius books.
Best Seller Saint Ignatius Books of 2024
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What Matters Most and Why
Jim Manney“Jim Manney is the perfect person to write this beautiful book. Let the wisdom of St. Ignatius guide you gently through your days with these lovely meditations.” James Martin, SJ,...
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Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of LoyolaWritten by the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is a powerful book. Derived mostly from St. Ignatius' conversion experiences in 15213, S...
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Keeping Company with Saint Ignatius
Luke Larson“Luke Larson’s book reveals The Way as I experienced it, and in ways that I wish everyone could.” Martin Sheen
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Seeking God
Trevor HudsonJesus promised, “Seek and you will find!”Do you long for a transforming encounter with the living God? Jesus assures us that those willing to become seekers will find what their he...
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A 12-Step Approach to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Jim Harbaugh, S.J.Based on the parallels between St. Ignatius and Bill Wilson, the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous. These 52 meditations consist of sections from St. IgnatiusO Spiritual Exercises,...
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Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Bob Lord & Penny LordSaint Ignatius of Loyola is the Founder of the Jesuits. Bob and Penny Lord trace his life from this beginnings in Spain through Paris to Rome and the history of the founding of the...
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The Sacred Writings of Saint Ignatius
Saint Ignatius"The Sacred Writings Of ..." provides you with the essential works among the Early Christian writings. The volumes cover the beginning of Christianity until before the prom...
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The St. Ignatius Collection
St. IgnatiusThe St. Ignatius Collection is a mustread for anyone studying the famous founder of the Society of Jesus. It contains: The Spiritual Exercises The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
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God Finds Us
Jim ManneyIn God Finds Us, author Jim Manney makes the Spiritual Exercises more accessible than ever by revealing his inner monologue of thoughts while he did the Exercises and giving everyd...
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The Field
Ignatius BrianchaninovMany people today are uncertain about what they believe and how they should live. They seek for a tradition that demonstrates antiquity and possesses authenticity. This newly trans...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of LoyolaThe aim of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola is to help people fill their everyday lives with the Christian faith. Created in the 16th century (1522–1524), this boo...
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The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
Pierre WolffCompleted in 1533, Wolff's translation is a definitive edition of this timeless classic, and the only complete, modern American translation of the Latin text recognized by the ...
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The Refuge
Ignatius Brianchaninov"Prayer is a refuge of God's great mercy to the human race." The refuge is a place of inner stillness and peace where the heart is fully opened to the embrace of God's love. It is ...
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The Heart of Perfection
Colleen Carroll CampbellWinner of the 2020 Catholic Press Association Book AwardIn a book hailed as “liberating” (Gary Chapman, New York Times bestselling author), an awardwinning author and mother of fou...
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Seek God Everywhere
Anthony De MelloThe Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is one of the great masterpieces of the Christian canon. A series of meditations and practices that guides seekers on a journey to spiritual...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Louis J. Puhl & Kevin O'Brien“The intention is to produce a clear, idiomatic, and readable translation.” LOUIS J. PUHL, SJ Louis J. Puhl’s translation of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola has been...
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St. Ignatius of Antioch - The Epistles
St. Ignatius of AntiochThe epistles of St. Ignatius are presented here in their entirety, with the historic insight imparted in an excellent translation to English. Saint Ignatius of Antioch was one of t...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of LoyolaThe Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, (composed from 15221524) are a set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided into four thematic 'weeks&...
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Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Pat CorkeryChange is an essential part of life. How we meet that change is where it can get interesting. When a person goes through a conversion experience, there is an automatic assumption t...
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The Life of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Christoph GenelliA thorough biography of the founder of the Jesuits and author of the famous Spiritual Exercises (which have formed saints and apostles for centuries). Does not skip his miracles. D...
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The Letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Ignatius of AntiochA collection of the letters of St. Ignatius written to the churches in asia.
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Altar Server Training
Greg GeckleAltar Server Training to be used for new servers to learn the expectations of an altar server at St. Ignatius Loyola Church Cincinnati
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The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
Saint Ignatius of LoyolaThis account of the life of St. Ignatius, dictated by himself, is considered by the Bollandists the most valuable record of the great Founder of the Society of Jesus. The editors o...
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The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius
Charles Coppens & Saint of Loyola IgnatiusTHIS "Brief TextBook of Moral Philosophy" is a companion volume to the author's "Brief TextBook of Logic and Mental Philosophy," lately published and already extensively used in Ac...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Illustrated
St. Ignatius of LoyolaThe founder of the Jesuit order, Ignatius of Loyola, wrote a type of testaments for Catholics: Spiritual Exercises a collection of Christian prayers and meditations that encourage...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius or Manresa
Ignatius of LoyolaThe Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius remain an abiding source of inspiration and wisdom for Christians in the modern day who wish to be closer oriented to God and his Kingdom. I...
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The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Thomas Corbishley, S.J.Rather than a set formula for prayer, the founder of the Jesuits offers a way of "raising the mind and heart to God," providing readers with a great variety of themes for meditatio...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of Loyola & Rolf JansenThis "doityourself" retreat is ideal for use at home or away. No flipping and or getting lost pick the day, go to the hour, do the exercise! Simple, easy, in order ... Your specia...
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The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
St. IgnatiusThe Autobiography of St. Ignatius chronicles the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Sean SalaiIs it time to take your spiritual pulse, reorient yourself to your Creator, and seek His guidance to live your faith more seriously? The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyol...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Saint Ignatius, John F. Thornton, Avery Dulles & Louis J.PuhlA classic Christian text from the founder of the Jesuit Order.The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola is the core work of religious formation for members of the Society o...
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Saint Ignatius Loyola
Mark MossaLet the Psalms help you forge a deeper connection to the Divine.
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Epistles of St. Ignatius
Ignatius of AntiochEpistles of Ignatius present a series of letters written by Ignatius of Antioch on his journey to Rome. Instead of being executed in his home town of Antioch, Ignatius was escorted...
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The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
Loyola IgnatiusThe autobiography does not cover the complete life of Ignatius. It begins abruptly in 1521 at the great turning point in the saint's life his injury in the battle of Pamplona when...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of LoyolaTHE present translation of the Exercises of St. Ignatius has been made from the Spanish Autograph of St. Ignatius. The copy so designated is not indeed in the handwriting of the Sa...
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The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
St Ignatius LoyolaThis account of the life of St. Ignatius, dictated by himself to Father Gonzalez, is a most valuable record of the great Founder of the Society of Jesus. It, more than any other wo...
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Stories of the Saints
Carey Wallace & Nick ThornborrowA great gift for Communion and confirmation!Performing Miracles. Facing Wild Lions. Confronting Demons. Transforming the World. From Augustine to Mother Teresa, officially canonize...
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Ignatius of Loyola
Brian EdwardsA comic book about the life of St Ignatius of Loyola.
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The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
St. Ignatius of LoyolaIs it time to take your spiritual pulse, reorient yourself to your Creator, and seek His guidance to live your faith more seriously?The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyol...
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Ignatian Pedagogy
José Mesa2018 Catholic Press Association, 2nd Place: Reference BooksIgnatian Pedagogy: Classic and Contemporary Texts on Jesuit Education from St. Ignatius to Today is an essential resource...
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Lent and Easter Wisdom From St. Ignatius of Loyola
James L. Connor SJ"Take a journey through Lent with St. Ignatius of Loyola as the wisdom of this great saint deepens your passion for Christ. Fr. Connor, SJ, offers a selection of readings from ...
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The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
Saint Of Loyola IgnatiusDownload The Autobiography of St. Ignatius today, and discover the man whose spiritual transformation altered the course of Catholic history and founded the Society of Jesus! Spani...
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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Ignatius of Loyola"The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius" is a collection of Christian meditations intended to guide one on a 2830 day process of spiritual purification and connection with...