Castle of Loyola

    St. Ignatius spent six months in the castle of Loyola recovering from his injuries. Since his leg was set but did not heal properly it had to be re-broken. All this was done without pain medication. At first he was told that he was going to die but he suddenly got much better. His left leg healed and was now shorter than his right so he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

    During his time at Loyola he became extremely bored because he had nothing to do. He asked for some romance novels but none were there for him to read. The only books they had were The Life of Christ and The Life of the Saints. At first he decided that he wouldn't read them but he eventually did because he was bored. This was the start of his conversion to the person he was when he died. The things he learned in these books were also the basis of The Spiritual Exercises. He promised himself he would serve God for the rest of his life