Following closely on the heels of the Protestant reformation came the Jesuits to defeat it.
In October 2016 the Jesuit Pope arrives in Sweden to mark 500 years since Protestant Reformation. Yes, the devil is in the detail. Their work particularly in Protestant USA to the point of revolution, means they are about to achieve world domination.
A Vatican stamp marks the 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola. (CNS photo/Vatican stamp and coin office)The cannonball that hit 22-year-old Iñigo de Loyola and ended his career as a soldier was not a direct hit. It actually ricocheted off a wall. On May 20, 1521, Iñigo had rallied the Spanish troops at the Battle of Pamplona to continue to defend their citadel rather than accept harsh terms of surrender by the French-Navarres forces besieging them. Then a cannonball flew over the bulwark. A fragment of the wall hit by the cannonball flew off and injured Iñigo’s left leg, and the cannonball itself shattered his right leg.
Their most passionate and courageous soldier taken out, the Spanish troops surrendered all but immediately to the French. And everything changed for Iñigo. The wall redirected not only the cannonball and Ignatius’ life but also, you could say perhaps without exaggeration, the course of human history.
At his family castle in Loyola, Ignatius went through painful surgeries, a long recuperation and a total conversion of heart and soul. Eventually he renounced his worldly goods, lay down his sword before a statue of Our Lady of Montserrat, changed his name to Ignatius, went through tortuous confessions and bouts of scruples, traveled to the Holy Land, was kicked out of the Holy Land and eventually became a highly sought-after spiritual master. Ignatius drew to himself a small group of men who would form the core of what would become the Society of Jesus, better known today as the Jesuits. They were formed in the image not only of Christ, but also of a man whose bravery and charisma on the battlefield was simply rechanneled to a fight for souls.
On May 20, the Jesuits began the Ignatian Year, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Ignatius’ “cannonball moment” and conversion. The celebration will continue through July 31, 2022, the 400th anniversary of Ignatius’ canonization. The lay men and women who run and work at Ignatian-inspired institutions worldwide will collaborate with Jesuits in planning events, commemorations, art installations, prayer services and numerous other encounters to celebrate the year and the event of Ignatius’ conversion.
In an effort to foster a prayerful community in celebration together, America has compiled a list of events that will be updated as the year goes on.
On May 20, the Jesuits began the Ignatian Year, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Ignatius’ “cannonball moment” and conversion.