No ivory tower pundit or preacher, Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491 to a noble family in the Basque country of northern Spain. Like his contemporaries Martin Luther and John Calvin, he was a reformer, committed to breaking down the institutional barriers between God and His believers. As he pursued a meandering career, and journeyed hundreds of miles on foot through Europe, he wrote down what he learned about the spiritual life. In 1534 he and seven companions formed what became the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, who created a new way of spiritual belief based on action. They urged Christians to live out their convictions in their families, communities, and workplaces. They launched a dazzling array of projects: schools, hospitals, missionary work, evangelism, street preaching, and work with youth, prostitutes, and prisoners. They organized laypeople in works of charity and devotion. Ignatius and the Jesuits brought spirituality out of the monastery and into the streets. These endeavors are still visible today.
