Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola, S.J., venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, who, with Peter Faber and Francis Xavier, founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus, and became the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus, in Paris, in 1541. He envisioned the purpose of the Society of Jesus to be missionary work and teaching. Unlike members of other religious orders in the church who take the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, members of the society, Jesuits, also take a fourth vow of obedience to the Pope, to engage in projects ordained by the pontiff. Jesuits were instrumental in leading the charge of 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. In time, the method has become known as Ignatian spirituality.