July 1
Venerable Thomas Maxfield Martyr (c 1590-1616)
Tyburn Gallows was, in the space of six hundred years, the scene of more than fifty thousand executions. From Newgate Prison and from the Tower of London the victims came, peers and commoners, priests and murderers, thieves and children. The gallows is gone. Today there stands at Tyburn a monument, and not far from there is Tyburn convent. Tyburn Tree, as the gallows was called, has become a shrine.
Here was the shame of England and in a larger sense the glory of England, the glory of her holy martyrs. Along with common criminals, there suffered at Tyburn 105 men and women, martyred for their faith under the reigns of Henry, James, and Elizabeth. Among them was Thomas Maxfield.
Thomas was born in the county of Stafford, about the year 1590, of devout Catholic parents. His father, in fact, was sentenced to death for harboring priests. Thomas studied at Douay, the English college in northern France, and returned to England as a priest in 1615.
Within three months he was arrested in London after saying Mass and was taken to the Gatehouse at Westminster. After an unsuccessful attempt to escape, he was placed in a filthy dungeon and locked for four days in the stocks, unable either to stand or lie down. Transferred to Newgate jail, he brought two felons to repentance before his trial. Refusing to recognize King James as the head of the Church, although declaring allegiance to him as a temporal ruler, Thomas was condemned to death.
In spite of the intervention of the Spanish ambassador, he was taken to the scaffold at Tyburn on the morning of July 1, 1616. He was followed by a large crowd, among them many Spaniards who decked the gallows with garlands and covered the ground about it with leaves and sweet-smelling herbs. In opposition to the orders of the sheriff, the bystanders insisted that he be hanged until dead, thus sparing him the horror of being disembowelled and dismembered alive.
English Catholics, and even non-Catholics, are beginning to realize that the death of men like Thomas Maxfield is not so much to the shame as to the honor of England. These men were patriots who truly loved England. They loved her too well to stay away from her shores, as they might have done. They loved her too well to disavow her glorious past as Protectress of the Church, at the demand of a tyrant king or a tyrant mob.
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 369-370. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
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July 2
Saint Otto Bishop and Confessor (1060-1139)
At a time when loyalties were divided between pope and emperor, Saint Otto was trusted by both. At a time when the issue of lay investiture had reached an explosive point, Saint Otto quietly and effectively strove to maintain peace in the Church.
Born in Swabia in 1060, of noble parents, Otto was ordained priest and entered the household of Duke Ladislas of Poland. In 1090 he entered the service of Emperor Henry IV, and in 1101 was made chancellor.
The struggle grew between the Holy See and the emperor over the right to appoint and invest bishops. Finally, Henry went so far as to break with Rome and support an antipope. Otto sided with his ruler in temporal matters, but refused to approve the schism or to recognize the emperor’s right to invest bishops.
When Henry V, who continued the schism, appointed him bishop of Bamberg, Otto refused to be invested by schismatic prelates. In 1105 he traveled with the emperor’s party to Italy and was consecrated by Pope Paschal II in Anagni.
Amid the tensions of tyrants and wars, he went calmly about his episcopal duties, establishing religious foundations, improving the cathedral school, building churches, and trying to heal the breach between pope and emperor. His main concern was for the monks, and he was responsible for founding over twenty monasteries, thus meriting the title ”Father of Monks.”
In the year 1120, Duke Boleslas III of Poland asked Otto to come to Pomerania to preach among the pagan people who had come under his rule. Obtaining a commission from Pope Honorius II for that purpose, and with permission from the emperor, Otto traveled to Pomerania with several priests and catechists. Over twenty thousand people are said to have been baptized before he returned to Bamberg a year later, leaving priests behind to continue his work. Many miracles were reported on this trip. Returning to Bamberg, Otto took up again with zeal his duties as prince-bishop, and there he died on June 30, 1139.· Saint Otto is invoked against rabies, and in art he is often pictured with a dog.
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 370-371. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
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July 3
Blessed Ramón Lull Martyr (c 1235-1316)
Blessed Ramón might be described as a saintly sort of Don Quixote. Armed only with the weapons of determination and boundless enthusiasm, doomed to failure in most of his earthly endeavors, he lived a life that stands as a challenge to complacency. His is one of the strangest stories in Christendom.
Born in Palma on the island of Majorca about 1235, he was a wealthy, talented, ardent young man, and married very young. Although he had a charming wife and two children, he was an incorrigible amorist, pursuing every pretty face that attracted him. At the age of thirty, while busily engaged in writing an ode to his latest love, Ramón suddenly saw beside him the figure of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. This incident recurred five separate times before he was fully influenced by it.
For Ramón Lull, there could be no half measures. Here was a cause worthy of the fullest sacrifice. This young courtier at the court of King James of Aragon renounced his rights, provided for his family, gave the rest of his wealth to the poor, and spent the next nine years studying Arabic. His aim was nothing less than the conversion of Islam.
From the beginning he understood the necessity of establishing Catholic religious centers to train missionaries for the new campaign. He was convinced it was the only way to deal with this alien culture of which the average Western theologian knew next to nothing. He founded a school in Majorca and, later, taught in Paris. Little came of his efforts, however, until the last years of his life, when in 1311-1312 the Council of Vienne decreed the establishment of the study of Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldean at the universities of Oxford, Paris, Bologna, and Salamanca.
Determined from the time of his conversion to become a missionary to the infidel, he appealed for help in Rome in 1277, in Paris in 1286, in Genoa in 1290, always with the hope of getting to Africa and preaching in Tunis. Rejected by the Dominicans, he was finally accepted by the Franciscans as a tertiary and sailed for Africa.
About 1292 he realized his dream of preaching in the streets of Tunis, but after much ill treatment he was deported to Naples. After another unsuccessful bid for papal support, he went back to preach among the Barbary Moors in 1306, but he was again cruelly imprisoned and deported. Between these missionary efforts and in fact until the end of his life he wore himself out in endless traveling, meetings, and written appeals for a strong Crusade to regain the Holy Land, and for a concerted effort on the part of the Church to face the challenge of Islam. He made a third trip to Africa at the age of 80. He was stoned at Bougie in Algeria, and died on June 30, 1316, of the injuries he received.
Believing emphatically in the conversion of the Moors through logic, he carried on a literary activity that was incredible. Over three hundred works are attributed to him, most of which are written in Latin, but some in Arabic and some in Catalan. In his eagerness to refute the Moslem errors, he often went to opposite extremes, and many of his philosophic works have been thought deserving of censure. His inspirational writings on prayer and devotion, however, rank high. His Life of Contemplation has been called a predecessor to the works of Saint John of the Cross and Teresa, and he has been compared with Saint Bonaventure. In his Life of Contemplation one reads the reflections of a soul filled with courage and generosity, extravagant qualities that were channeled by grace into sanctity.
In trying to explain Ramón Lull, one is left with a strange feeling of inadequacy. He failed, yet he cannot simply be dismissed as a failure; his aims were too vast for any one man to accomplish. His canonization was discouraged when his cause was introduced in the seventeenth century, but his popularity does not die. There is something in his life that stirs the imagination and shatters complacency.
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 372-374. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
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July 4
Saint Ulric Bishop and Confessor (890-973)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 374-375. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 5
Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria Confessor (1502-1539)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 375-377. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 6
Saint Maria Goretti Virgin and Martyr (1890-1902)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 377-380. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 7
Saints Cyril and Methodius Bishops and Confessors (827-869), (826-885)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 380-381. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 8
Saint Elizabeth of Portugal Queen and Holy Woman (c 1271-1336)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 382-383. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 9
Saint Thomas More Martyr (1478-1535)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 383-387. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 10
Saint Peter Vincioli Abbot and Confessor (1007)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 387-388. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 11
Blessed Oliver Plunket Bishop and Martyr (1629-1681)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 388-390. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 12
Saint Veronica Holy Woman (1st Century)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 390-391. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 13
Saint Eugenius of Carthage Bishop and Confessor (-505)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 391-392. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 14
Saint Bonaventure Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church (1221-1274)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 393-395. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 15
Saint Henry Emperor and Confessor (972-1024)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 395-396. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 16
Saint Mary Magdalene Postel Virgin (1756-1846)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 397-399. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 17
Saint Alexis Confessor (-417)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 399-400. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 18
Saint Camillus de Lillis Confessor (1550-1614)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 401-403. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 19
Saint Vincent de Paul Confessor (1581-1660)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 403-406. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 19
Saint Macrina the Younger Virgin (c 327-379)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 407-408. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 20
Saint Margaret (Marina) Virgin and Martyr (date uncertain)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 408-409. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 20
Saint Jerome Emiliani Confessor (1486-1537)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 409-410. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 21
Saint Victor and Marseilles and Companions Martyrs (-c 290)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 411-412. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 22
Saint Mary Magdalene Holy Woman (New Testament)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 412-415. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 23
Saint Appolinaris Biashop and Martyr (date unknown)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 415-416. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 24
Saint Francis Solano Confessor (1549-1610)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 416-417. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 25
Saint James the Greater Apostle (New Testament)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 418-420. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 25
Saint Christopher Martyr (3rd Century)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 420-421. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 26
Saint Anne Mother of Our Lady (1st Century before Christ)
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 421-422. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 27
Saints Aurelius, Natalia and Companions Martyrs (-c 852)
CHRISTIANITY in Spain had a long and painful history in the first fourteen hundred years of our era. It was established there in Roman settlements very early, and suffered in succession the Roman persecutions and the depredations of the Vandals, the Visigoths, and lastly the Moslems. It was in the eighth century that Moslem domination began, and although Christians were at first tolerated, an independent emirate set up at Cordova inaugurated a persecution about the middle of the next century. It was in this persecution that Aurelius and his wife Natalia, and many others, won the crown of martyrdom.
Aurelius, son of a Moorish father and a Spanish mother, was orphaned at an early age and was brought up by his Christian aunt. As he grew up he considered it prudent to conform outwardly to Moslem practices, although he was a Christian in secret and had won his half-Moorish wife over to Christianity. This he soon saw was hypocrisy, when other Christians were suffering for their faith. But what to do about his children; could he risk leaving them unprovided for both materially and spiritually?
Aurelius and Natalia consulted their bishop, a holy man who was to be martyred himself seven years later. It was he who wrote the account of this courageous couple. He agreed that they should make open avowal of their faith, but said they must first make provision for the Christian training of their children. The children were commended to the care of Bishop Eulogius himself, and Aurelius and his wife began visiting Christian captives and in every way supporting and encouraging others. They thus met other heroic men and women – and inevitably were denounced to the Emirand charged with apostasy from Islam, and were beheaded before his palace.
Saints Natalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George, Martyrs
Saint Pantaleon – Catholic Online (305), Martyr; invoked against lung disease, for doctors and the medical profession Physicians, midwives, livestock, invoked against headaches, consumption, locusts, witchcraft, accidents and loneliness, helper for crying children: Saint Pantaleon – New Advent Information
Saint Celestine I – Catholic Online (432) | Pope Saint Celestine I – New Advent | Pope Saint Celestine I – Regina | Saint Celestine I – Magnificat – Feast day is celebrated either April 6 or July 27
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 423-424. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 28
Saint Innocent I Pope and Confessor (-417)
AFTER the death of Pope Anastasius I in 401, Innocent was unanimously chosen bishop of Rome. Little is known of his life before he ascended the papal chair, except that he was a native of Albano. As pope, Innocent gave all his strength to the things demanded of him. It was a time when the entire world looked to Rome. During his pontificate, Alaric the Goth with his army of barbarians overran Italy. Innocent was not able to stop the sacking of Rome, but through his example and encouragement, the people of that city so humbly and piously accepted their lot that the conversion of the Goths began on a large scale.
In his papal letters, Innocent reiterated the doctrine of Church unity, making it clear that his authority extended to the Eastern, as well as the Western, Church. He succeeded
in healing the schism with the Church of Antioch and obtained from the emperor Honorius a decree against the Montanists of Africa.
Innocent’s authority was recognized by bishops throughout the world, and he commended them for following the ancient rule that ”All ecclesiastical matters throughout the world are, by divine right, to be referred to the Apostolic See, that is, to Saint Peter, the author of its name and honor.” It is from his pontificate that we have the adage spoken first by Saint Augustine, “Rome has spoken, the case is settled.” He died on March 12, 417, after fifteen years of fruitful service.
Saint Innocent I – Regina | Saint Innocent I – Catholic Online | Saint Innocent I – Tradition in Action
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 424-425. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 29
Saint Martha Virgin (New Testament)
After Jesus left His Mother’s home and went out to preach the good tidings of salvation, He was dependent upon the hospitality of others and the Gospels tell us that a group of women from Galilee soon began to provide for Him and for the little group of His disciples. Although ”the foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests. . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).
During the last year of His public mission, Christ was welcomed into a home that from that time on was a haven for Himself and His disciples, and into the hearts of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. It was in the town of Bethany, on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. Martha, being the eldest sister, was the mistress of this household. On one occasion when she was preparing a meal for Jesus and His companions–perhaps there were more guests than usual-Martha became a little flustered and looked about for her sister Mary to lend a hand. But where is Mary? In a secluded corner, sitting at the feet of the Master, and absorbed in His words. Jesus is their friend and has been a frequent guest; Martha does not hesitate to approach Him and ask if He doesn’t see that Mary is leaving her all the work of serving, begging Him to send her along to help. What she receives is a gentle rebuke for her anxiety and troubled mood, perhaps also for her elaborate preparations, for Jesus and His companions are satisfied with simple fare and would be embarrassed at putting their hostess to so much trouble. There are three visits mentioned: Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9
Martha is His faithful and loving friend; she must learn to serve without being immersed in a multiplicity of details, to keep her soul in peace and tranquility. When Simon the Leper entertains Jesus at a banquet in the town she is there again, helping to serve. And no doubt her home is the refuge at Bethany to which Jesus returns after He rides into Jerusalem amid the shouts of Hosanna on Palm Sunday, and again after He drives the money-sellers out of the Temple.
After Lazarus had died, it was Martha who cried out that fervent profession of faith, worthy of Saint Peter, “Yes, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who hast come into the world” (John 11:27).
Martha does not appear in the accounts of the Passion and Resurrection; this can perhaps be explained by the fact that her brother Lazarus is in danger, for the priests and the Pharisees have been plotting his death. In her motherly way she would have watched over him at home. Surely in the next few years she would have often gone down to Jerusalem to meet with the little Christian community, and must often have recalled the beloved memories of Christ’s visits with all those who had known Him. Of her last years nothing is known, but in later generations her home and the tomb of Lazarus at Bethany were pointed out to pilgrims.
Saint Martha – Catholic Online | Saint Martha – New Advent | Saint Martha – Franciscan Media | Saint Martha Regina
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 425-427. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 30
Saints Abdon and Sennen Martyrs (-c 250)
Of Abdon and Sennen the only reliable facts are that they were Persian Christians and were commemorated as martyrs on a Roman tomb. All the rest is legend without historical foundation. It is said that throughout the persecution of Decius they ministered to their fellows in Rome and buried the bodies of the martyrs. Finally, they themselves were martyred in the Colosseum. Neither lions nor bears would touch them, and they were slaughtered by the gladiators.
Tertullian, an ecclesiastical writer of the third century, expresses the spirit of all such martyrs: “We say we are Christians, we proclaim it to the whole world even under the hands of the executioner and in the midst of all the tortures . . . weltering in our blood. . . as loud as we are able to cry. . . we are worshipers of God through Christ.”
Their Christian brethren in Rome carefully removed the bodies of Abdon and Sennen to a place of burial. These holy relics were moved many times through the centuries, and today several different cities claim possession of them, notably Florence, Soissons, and Rome.
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 427. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
July 31
Saint Ignatius Loyola Confessor (1491-1556)
The ex-soldier could not have known, as he knelt with his six companions, that his newly formed company would one day become an army. Today, thirty thousand of his followers are dispersed throughout the world. They are in the jungles, on remote islands, in cities, and in distant villages. They work in laboratories, observatories, libraries. They control a hundred institutions of higher learning and are proprietors of academies, seminaries, and missions.
There is nothing in the early life of Ignatius Loyola to indicate either his future influence or his great sanctity. He was born in the castle of Loyola in Spain in 1491, of the noble and ancient Basque family of Don Beltran Yanez. One of the youngest of a dozen children, Ignatius had a choice between religious or military life. Although he received the tonsure he had no doubt that it was to be a life of adventure and chivalry for him.
At the age of twenty-four he was a full-fledged soldier, dressed extravagantly, dreaming of romance, fighting and dueling, ever jealous of his honor. In 1521 Ignatius’ dreams of military glory came to an abrupt end. At the defense of the Spanish citadel of Pamplona, a cannon ball broke his leg, which was never to heal properly.
There were no romantic novels available at Loyola, where he spent his convalescence. Ignatius turned, out of boredom, to spiritual reading: a fourteenth-century life of Christ and a Spanish version of the pious tales of the Golden Legend. This was the beginning of his conversion. His mind wavered between the world and the spirit. Then he had a vision of our Lady and the Infant Christ. He made his decision.
As soon as he was able to leave, Ignatius went to the shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat. There he made a general confession, left his sword and dagger before our Lady’s altar, and gave away his earthly goods.
He spent a year living on alms in the town of Manresa, during which time he received many divine illuminations on matters of doctrine. Then he made a trip to the Holy Land. Ignatius soon realized that without education he would have little success in winning souls to Christ, which was now the aim of his life. He entered school, a man thirty-one years old, in the lowest class and among the youngest students. For eleven years he studied, living in the utmost poverty and begging his food at Barcelona, Alcala, Salamanca, and Paris, being helped and cared for by many generous people.
While Ignatius studied, he preached, and a handful of men, including Francis Xavier, became disciples. In 1534, after receiving the degree of master of arts from the University of Paris, he met with six men at the chapel on Montmartre, where they received Holy Communion from the one priest of the group, Peter Faber. They vowed a trip to the Holy Land and took vows of chastity and poverty.
The proposed trip proved impossible because of war, and in the spring of 1537, after an interview with Pope Paul III, Ignatius’ group was given permission to be ordained. It was not until 1538 that the companions, who had been preaching in Pairs, met again in Rome. There, after much prayer, they decided that if their plan was approved they would form themselves into a religious body.
In 1540 the Society of Jesus became a reality, and Ignatius was chosen the first general. The rule he established seem, at the time, revolutionary. His disciples were to be ascetics in the world, not in the cloister. They were to be teachers and preachers, trained scholars able to meet argument with better argument. There were to renounce all rank, temporal or ecclesiastical. There were to live under the intense discipline and perfect obedience which has always been their distinctive characteristic. Special obedience was vowed to the Holy Father in the matter of missions.
After the foundation of the society, Ignatius never left Rome, His administrative genius was given tremendous scope, and a thousand projects occupied his agile mind. He live to see his followers penetrate the corners of the known world.
One of his most fruitful works was the book of Spiritual Exercises, begun at Manresa, where he had spent a year of prayer and penance. So clear and universal were the principles of prayer he laid down that some adaptation of his exercise is very often used at retreats today.
The recruits multiplied so rapidly that when Ignatius does on July 13, 1556, there were sixty-seven Jesuit houses, and the grace that was given at Manresa did more than make one man a saint. There made a society of men, all with the same goal of service and sanctity. Many miracles were recorded at the canonization of Saint Ignatius Loyola. His most impressive accomplishment in the annals of history and the Church was the establishment of the Society of Jesus, the influence of which throughout four hundred years is altogether incalculable. But even without this, Ignatius would take his place among the great saints, for his heroic virtue, his absolute dedication of his life and energies to Christ, his mystic graces, and his spiritual guidance.
Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 428-430. © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958. Print.
Saint Ignatius Loyola – Catholic Online | Saint Ignatius Loyola – New Advent | Books about Saint Ignatius Loyola at Amazon.com | The Spiritual Exercises | The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius | The Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola | Catholic Audio Books
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