3/4TR - RE

Ms Recce

St Ignatius Feast Day Mass

Tuesday 2nd  August

 

Earlier this term the student’s from Trinity Catholic School and Fr Trung came together to celebrate the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola. 

 

As we have been looking back at Term 3 we reflected on this special day and its meaning for us as members of the St Ignatius Parish. When asked this question the children were able to respond showing a greater knowledge of our important saint.

 

Who was St Ignatius ?

  • St Ignatius was born in Loyola in Spain in 1491 and he was the youngest of 13 children 
  • He was only seven when his mother died 
  • in 1509 when he was 18, he joined the army
  • In 1521, he was badly injured in a battle.  His legs were injured by a cannonball. Before this he had been a boy who loved to dance and attend parties however with these serious injuries, he was forced to rest in bed for a very long time.
  • While Ignatius was recovering, he read a book called “The Lives of the Saints.”  He became interested and wondered if he could live the life of a saint.
  • Having seen the Mother of God in a vision, he made a pilgrimage to her shrine at Montserrat (near Barcelona).  He lived at nearby Manresa, sometimes in a monastery, sometimes in a pauper’s hostel and often in a cave in the hills praying. 
  • After a time of great peace of mind, he then went through a period of confusion, indecision and sadness. Nothing seemed to bring him comfort---the sacraments, prayer, fasting or penance.  He felt lost.
  • During this year of confusion and unrest, he began to write down material that later became his greatest work, the spiritual exercises.
  • He spent the next eleven years of his life studying at various universities throughout Europe.He completed his university degree at the age of 43.
  • During his time at university he had many followers, including St Francis Xavier, Alfonso Salmerons, Diego Laynez, Nicholas Bobadilla ( all Spanish) as well as Peter Faber, a Frenchman and Simao Rodrigues of Portugal.
  • Ignatius and these six friends were the first members of the order of  The Society of Jesus, later known as the Jesuits.
  • Ignatius Loyola was the main creator and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus, a religious organization of the Catholic Church.
  • The members of the organization are called Jesuits.

Our own Fr Trung is a Jesuit Priest.