St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola, as a young man, had one goal: to be a famous knight. To achieve that goal, he entered the military, but a cannon ball shattering his leg derailed his dreams. Fortunately for the Catholic Church, this traumatic leg injury led to his conversion, and the founder of one of the largest religious orders in the Church. 

While recovering from this injury, Ignatius wanted to read books about famous knights. The hospital did not have any books like that on hand, but they did have books about the lives of Christ and the saints. So, Ignatius passed his time reading those books. These books touched him deeply, inspiring him to give his life completely to God. 

He spent a year after his release from the hospital in payer. He went through a difficult stretch during this time where he did not receive any consolation from God from prayer or other Christian practices. Eventually, he began to receive consolation again. The fruit of this year of prayer is the beginning of the material for his Spiritual Exercises, his most famous writing that many still use today. 

Ignatius spent the next several years studying at various European universities. Then, he and six others, including St. Francis Xavier, made vows of poverty and chastity. They also vowed to go to the Holy Land, or, if that wasn’t possible because of the violence there, to offer themselves to the service of the pope. They ended up in service of the pope, and four years later, this little association because the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuit order

The pope sent the Jesuits far and wide to evangelize. Ignatius lived out his days in Rome, helping to run the order and helping the poor in Rome. He also focused on his spiritual life, becoming a great spiritual leader.

Ignatius suffered a traumatic war wound (he had to have his leg set multiple times with no anesthesia!). However, God used this injury as an opportunity to reorient him towards his true mission and to bring about his conversion, which led to a religious order that has done great evangelization and great spiritual writing that still guides many. Ignatius’ story reminds us that God can use everything for his greater glory.

To learn more about other saints who have faced trauma, please visit the Stories of Hope page.