Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) was trained as a page at the court of Castile. Wounded at the siege of Pamplona in 1521, he underwent a deep conversion, eventually travelling to Jerusalem and beginning to study. He attracted like-minded students and in 1534 they took vows and formed the 'Society of Jesus', popularly known as the Jesuits. From 1540 he was elected Superior General and lived in Rome, organising the astonishing spread of the Jesuits. He was canonized in 1622.
Joseph A. Munitiz is Master of Campion Hall, Oxford. Philip Endean lectures in theology at Heythrop College, University of London. He is General Editor of The Way, a journal of contemporary Christian spirituality, sponsored by the Jesuits.