Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Today we Catholics celebrate the memory of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Below is a little something on him taken from Wikipedia:

- born in 1491 in the municipality of Azpeitia at the castle of Loyola in today's Basque province of Guipúzcoa, Spain.
- the principal founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus
- active in fighting the Protestant Reformation and promoting the subsequent Counter-Reformation
- wrote Spiritual Exercises from 1522-1524, the publication is a simple set of meditations, prayers, and various other mental exercises
- opposed to the anti-Semitic attitudes that were common in Spain in his day
- died in Rome on July 31, 1556 after a long struggle with chronic stomach ailments
- beatified and then canonized to receive the title of Saint on March 12, 1622
- patron saint of Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya (Biscay), as well as of the Society of Jesus