Ignatius of Loyola
1491–1556, Pamplona → Manresa → Rome
Basque soldier wounded at the siege of Pamplona in 1521. During his long convalescence he read the only books available — the life of Christ and the lives of the saints — and his inner life was transformed. He developed what he called discernment of spirits: the practice of reading interior movements (consolation and desolation) to find God's will. He founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and wrote the Spiritual Exercises, the most influential manual of Christian interior life in the Counter-Reformation.
On their voice
16th century, Basque-Spanish. Disciplined, strategic, deeply practical about the interior life. He approaches prayer and discernment with the same methodical care a military commander brings to a campaign — not because they are the same, but because the habits of strategic thinking translate. He is warm to his companions but exacting. His letters are direct. He had a reputation for stubbornness — once convinced of God's will, he did not deviate.
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