Portrait of Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, was born into a noble family in Guipúzcoa, Spain. Then known as Íñigo López de Loyola, the Basque noble lost both his mother and father at a young age, and his life was characterized by unscrupulous and deviant behavior. After being gravely wounded in a 1521 battle, Loyola experienced a spiritual awakening and changed his name to the more familiar Ignatius. Eventually beatified in 1609 and canonized in 1622, the saint is the embodiment of selfless devotion, humility, and self-reflection.