Ignatius (1491–1556) was born in the family castle of Loyola in the Basque country of Spain. In 1517 he took service in the army and in May of 1521 received a leg wound in a border skirmish with the French. He returned to Loyola to recuperate and found himself able to do nothing but read. He happened upon a book called The Life of Christ and was converted as a result. His “exercises” became the standard for Jesuit retreats and have remained so to this day.