In May we celebrated a very strange event: the wounding of St Ignatius at a battle in Spain. That event changed the course of his life; it led to the foundation of the Society of Jesus which eventually led to the Jesuit community, parish, school and spirituality centre being here today!

On 20 May 1521, The Basque soldier Ignatius of Loyola was defending the city of Pamplona against French troops. He was hit by a cannonball and his legs were shattered. He barely survived and had to spend months recovering.

During his recovery, Ignatius had nothing to do. He was given a book on the life of Christ and a collection of lives of the Saints, which he read reluctantly at the beginning. In time, though he was inspired to try and imitate the saints. He radically changed his life, centring it on Christ.

Learn more by visiting the 500th anniversary website, and join Jesuits parishes, schools, etc all over the world for a time of prayer on Sunday 23rd.