The name Loyola comes from the ancestral castle that was the family home where Saint Ignatius was born in 1491, the last of a large Basque family of Spain. Pursuing a worldly career in the service of the king, he was wounded in the defence of Pamplona and was taken as prisoner. While convalescing, he was converted and turned from the service of an earthly ruler to that of his divine Master, Jesus Christ.
He took to a life of prayer, penance and serious study and recorded his experiences in the book, `The Spiritual Exercises', which became the source of inspiration of all his followers. He gathered around him like-minded and motivated unviersiotmen like St. Francis Xavier, who came to India to found the Society of Jesus in 1540.
