Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Basque: Ignazio Loiolakoa: Spanish: Ignacio de Loyola) was a Spanish Basque soldier and libertine, who, after suffering a grave leg injury in battle, reformed and converted to a priest and theologian. He, along with St. Francis Xavier and 5 companions, founded the religious order called the Society of Jesus (known as the "Jesuits") and became its first Superior General.  The Jesuit order served the Holy Father in Rome as missionaries - especially to the New World in the 15th to 18th centuries. They were bound by a vow of special obedience to the sovereign pontiff in regard to the missions.  They therefore emerged as an important strength during the time of the Counter-Reformation and, later, in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council.  Today, they number some 16,000 worldwide.

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St. Ignatius is remembered as a talented spiritual director.  He recorded his method in a celebrated treatise called the Spiritual Exercises, a simple set of meditations, prayers, and other mental exercises, first published in 1548. 

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St. Ignatius was beatified in 1609, and them canonized, receiving the title of Saint on 12 March 1622.  His feast day is celebrated on 31 July.  He is a patron saint in the Society of Jesus and was declared patron saint of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922.  St. Ignatius is also a foremost patron saint of soldiers.