Ignatius de Loyola was born in 1491 in Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern Spain. He was the youngest of thirteen children. When Ignatius turned sixteen years old, he was sent to be a page to Juan Velazquez, the treasurer of the kingdom of Castile. Since he became one of the Velazquez households, he was often at court and he liked to be there, especially with the ladies. He became addicted to gambling and engaging in. In May of 1521, Ignatius was thirty years old. He was an officer defending the fortress town of Pamplona against the French, who claimed the territory as their own against Spain. The Spaniards were outnumbered and the commander of the Spanish forces wanted to surrender, but Ignatius convinced them to fight on for the honor of Spain, even if they did not win. During the battle, a cannon ball struck Ignatius’ leg, wounding one and breaking the other. The French soldiers admired his courage and carried him back to recuperate at his home, the castle of Loyola, rather than to prison. His leg was set but did not heal, so it was necessary to break it again and reset it. Ignatius grew worse and was finally told by the doctors that he should prepare for death. However, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which is June 29th, Ignatius took an unexpected turn for the better. During the long weeks of his recuperation, he was extremely bored and asked for some romance novels to pass the time. Since there were not any romance novels in the castle, Ignatius was given a copy of the life of Christ book, and a book about the saints. Since Ignatius had nothing else to do, he began to read the books. As he read the books, he felt he wanted to imitate the saints. However, that after reading and thinking of the saints and Christ he felt calm and at peace with himself. Through reading the books, it was the beginning of his experience of conversion. Once Ignatius was healed from his wounds, he deci...
