Iyesha Morrison
Hist & Phil of Ed
24 March 2019
Ignatius Loyola
1.
Summarize the life of Ignatius Loyola in at least five points using details and colorful images.
Early Life: o He was born as Iñigo López de Loyola. He would later take on the name Ignatius after St. Ignatius of Antioch, who he’d come to admire. o Ignatius was born on the lower end of nobility at his family mansion Loyola. o His upbringing afforded him rudimentary Catholic education, which gave him the ability to read and write and develop a love for music and dance, not unlike the people he grew up around. o Unfortunately, by the time he turned sixteen, he’d lost both his parents and had to be raised by the blacksmith’s wife, María. o He would eventually be sent to continue his studies and serve under Don Juan
Velásquez, who was the chief treasurer of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of
Castille.
Connoisseur of worldly things: o During his time serving under Velásquez (and eventually Antonio Manrique, after
Velásquez’s death), he would become a well-mannered gentleman, but also one who sought worldly honor in physical conquest, pride his appearance and womanizing. o It is said that the desire to set himself apart from others, to take risks and his tenaciousness are 3 of the more positive personality traits that came from this time. o During this time he also came to love books about knightly adventures (which would plat a part in his eventual conversion) and saw quite a bit of military action in Pamplona.
Conversion and Pilgrimage: o Ignatius was injured while defending Pamplona and was transferred to Loyola to get surgery and recover. o He almost died during his surgery, but made his recovery on the eve of the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, and credited his recover to Peter. This would also play a part in his conversion. o Since he was bedridden, he requested books about knightly adventures to read.
However, since there were none in Loyola, he was given books about the life of
Jesus and the Saints to read. He was particularly impressed with the lives of St.
Thomas of Assisi and St. Dominic: two men who’d given up worldly possessions in order to serve only God and the church. o It was at this time that Ignatius began to pen some of the early meditations that would eventually make it in to this Spiritual Exercises o By 1521, he’d decided that he was no longer interested in worldly pursuit, and decided to spend the rest of his life doing penance for his past sins. Of course, his

family tried to talk him out of it, but he ended up taking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to being his work. o Before making it to Jerusalem, he stopped in Catalonia to formally make his conversion and shred his courtier’s clothing in favor of simple garb. He also took the time to confess some of his past sins. However, due to a plague he was unable to continue his pilgrimage to Jerusalem for at least a year, during which time he experienced interior turmoil which included uncertainty if his penance was enough and suicidal thoughts. o He decided to turn back to the meditations that he’d done in Loyola and said that during this time, he felt directly instructed by God. These meditations were also written down, and would make it into the Spiritual Exercises to help others on their journeys. o He was eventually able to leave Barcelona and continued his journey to get permission from the Pope to visit Jerusalem, where he planned to live out the rest of his life seeking penance and helping souls come closer to God. However, because the political climate in Jerusalem at the time was not particularly kind to
Christians and their missionary work, the Pope denied his request.
The Student o Ignatius figured that in order to help souls get closer to God, he would need to study. So upon his return to Barcelona , he began to study theology, a process that would go on for the next ten years. o He first had to learn Latin, and could be found studying the language among schoolboys more than half his age. o To pay for school, he begged for money. During this time, he also engaged in conversations with women and fellow students about his past experiences and the spiritual life that can come from it. o He was often jailed during this time because, since he was not a priest, nor did he have a college degree, he was assumed to be an alumbrado , one who went against the Catholic tradition of piety.
The Founding and administration o During his studies, Ignatius found himself among a group of seven friends. They all decided that when their studies were done, they would try to get to Jerusalem again to spread their beliefs, and if not, they would work under the Pope, doing whatever he needed them to do that was “for the greater glory of God and the good of souls.” o They were not able to make it to Jerusalem for the same reason as before, but were ordained as ministers in 1537, and were allowed to preach, teach the catechism, give spiritual guidance and tend to the sick. They began to call themselves “The Company of Jesus” because Jesus was their only superior. It is important to note that, at this time, they had not plans on starting a new order. o Initially, due to a vision had prior to making it to Rome, Ignatius and his friends decided that instead of working for the Pope, they would continue the works that they’d begun in Venice, independently. This brought them a lot of trouble: they were accused of Lutheranism for giving people the Spiritual Exercises .

o Eventually their efforts caught the attention of the Pope and he asked some of them to stay in Rome and continue their work and others to spread beyond the city. o It was this ask that caused the group of a friends to think more deeply about whether or not they wanted to simply disperse and hope for the best, or unite under a more formal order and continue their work. They decided on the latter and elected Ignatius their leader. o From there, he was tasked with establishing the initial protocols of the new order, and his did so in Formula of the Institute, which eventually expanded into The
Constitutions of the Society of Jesus . o Despite some opposition, The Formula of the Institute was approved by Pope Paul
II in 1540 and their membership was limited to 60. o His work then spread to administrating the new order, writing the initial works and still begin committed to helping souls. o He established the first house of the order in Rome and oversaw the establishment of additional houses in other countries as members began to disperse on missions sanctioned by the papacy. o In addition to continuing the drafting of the order’s Constitutions , he also continued to give the Spiritual Exercises , however, he also sought approval for this from the pope, so that his followers would not be persecuted for using them during their travels.
o He became known as a saint for his exorcisms, advisement of the wealthy and works of mercy. o Ignatius eventually died in Rome at the Church of Gesu and was officially canonized, along with St. Francis Xavier in 1622.
His legacy
2.
Describe the original mission of the Jesuits and give one example of how this mission was played out:
Ignatius goal for the Jesuits was to “help souls.”
Finding God in all things
The contemplative in action o One example of how this mission played out is Jesuit belief that education is not just responsible for educating on matters of the church, but in all matters for the good of souls, which would ultimately lead to a better world. This can be seen in
Ignatius’s letters to various wealthy people, giving not just spiritual advice, but also advisement in temporal matters as well.
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3.
Describe the mission given to the Jesuits by Pope Paul III in the 16th century and give one example of how this mission was played out.
Pope Paul III asked Ignatius and his brothers to stay in Rome and continue giving the spiritual exercises.
He also asked a few of them to do missions outside of the city.
This played out in the official forming of the Jesuits. In doing so, Ignatius established a house in Rome for the order to operate from, and other brothers, like St. Fraincis Xavier continued their work in other countries, establishing houses there.
4.
Describe the present day mission of the Jesuits and give one example of how this mission is played out today.

Now, I’d say that in addition to the original mission, the Jesuits now focus on “a faith that does justice. This is is most evident in the way that Jesuits have worked to make sure that all people have access to a quality education, which they believe contribute to the greater good of the world. o There are currently 2,300 Jesuit schools in 67 countries across the world,
5. Explain Ignatian Pedagogy in at least five points with details and examples.
Ignatian Pedagogy uses the pedagogy that one would find in the Spiritual Exercises. o It focuses on dynamic learning and should note that this education is not finite, but cyclical.
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The learner is autonomous, but is assisted in the process by the teacher.
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This approach requires learning by reflection on personal experience, not transfer of information.
 It brings the learner to a point of decision and action, not just knowledge or acquisition of skills.
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It also requires the learner to review what has transpired in her life (or to look at what the learning has done for her).
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From there, the learner would articulate new personal and life questions, and begin the process again.
6.
Identify and explain at least five characteristics of Jesuit Education with details and examples. o Jesuit Universities o Are not churches, not indoctrination camps o Have the practical purpose of helping people survive economically and advance professionally. o While having a religious purpose, are for the good of society. o The goal of the common good can be achieved by upright human beings o Universities as we know them have different purpose and different divisions of them have different goals. o It’s possible to achieve these multiple goals o Belief in God is compatible with human inquiry o Schools should foster and not impede that belief o As school deals with that belief, it should be concerned to foster in an adult and inner appropriation of that belief. o That entails offering religious instruction that is sophisticated as the other instruction o Faith doing justice o Its appropriate for the university to promote research in matters concerning
Catholics, Christians, and to all believers
7.
Reflect upon the significance of Jesuit Education in your life with details and examples. a.
I can’t exactly say that I’ve received a Jesuit education at all until my time here at
St. Peter’s university. I can however speak to how I’ve grown up in the vicinity of

both St. Peter’s prep and St. Peter’s University (I’ve lived near Ferris High School for the first 20 years of my life) and have watched the school continuously improve upon both its appearance and its practices. And so, when I was looking for a post-grade program, it made me incredibly happy to hear that a university (a
Jesuit University) located in my hometown, had one of the best education programs in the country. And now that I’m learning more about Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits, I am not surprised at all about that fact. I am extremely proud to be getting my leadership degree from this University.