“Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam” (AMDG)
St. Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491, one of 13 children of a noble family in northern Spain. As a young man Ignatius of Loyola was inflamed by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds. He had great love for military exercises as well as a tremendous desire for fame. He joined the army at the age of seventeen. In the battle of Pamplona in 1521 against the French, Ignatius was gravely wounded when a cannon ball rebounded off a surface of a nearby wall shattering his right leg. He underwent several surgical operations to repair the leg, having the bones set and then re-broken. In the end these operations left his right leg shorter than before. Ignatius would limp for the rest of his life, and his military career was over. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a conversion. Reading the books; “Life of Christ” and “Lives of Saints” thrilled him and aroused desires to do great things. These books would influence his whole life, inspiring him to devote himself to God and follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi and other great monks. Ignatius realized that these feelings were clues to God’s direction for him.
Over the years, Ignatius became an expert in the art of spiritual direction. He collected his insights, prayers, and suggestions in his book the Spiritual Exercises, one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written. He was always remembered as a talented spiritual director. It was Ignatius who convinced St. Francis Xavier to move away from the worldly pleasures to devotion for God by repeatedly reciting the words “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul”.
Ignatius was beatified in 1609, and then canonized, receiving the title of Saint on 12th March 1622. His feast day is celebrated on the 31st of July. He is the patron saint of the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay as well as the Society of Jesus, and was declared patron saint of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. Ignatius is also a foremost patron saint of soldiers.
Society of Jesus;
The Society of Jesus (SJ; in Latin means “Societas Iesu”) is a scholarly religious congregation of the Catholic Church and its members are called Jesuits. It was founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola and six other young men including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber. They professed vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the Pope in matters of mission, direction and assignment. Ignatius became its first Superior General at Paris in 1541. The Jesuits are known for teaching, for making contributions to science and for taking vows of poverty. Their motto being “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam” (AMDG), is the Latin motto of the Society of Jesus; “For the greater glory of God”. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio elected as the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, choosing His Papal name as Pope Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi is the first Jesuit Pope belonging to the Society of Jesus.
Karen Dias