The Autobiography of St. Ignatius

To understand fully the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, we should know something of the man who wrote them. In this life of St. Ignatius, told in his own words, we acquire an intimate knowledge of the author of the Exercises. We discern the Saint's natural disposition, which was the foundation of his spiritual character. We learn of his conversion, his trials, the obstacles in his way, the heroism with which he accomplished his great mission. This autobiography of St. Ignatius is the groundwork of all the great lives of him that have been written. Bartoli draws from it, Genelli develops it, the recent magnificent works of Father Clair, S.J., and of Stewart Rose are amplifications of this simple story of the life of St. Ignatius. The Saint in his narrative always refers to himself in the third person, and this mode of speech has here been retained. Many persons who have neither the time, nor, perhaps, the inclination, to read larger works, will read, we trust, with pleasure and profit this autobiography. Ignatius, as he lay wounded in his brother's house, read the lives of the saints to while away the time. Touched by grace, he cried, “What St. Francis and St. Dominic have done, that, by God's grace, I will do.” May this little book, in like manner, inspire its readers with the desire of imitating St. Ignatius.