The Autobiography of St. Ignatius

The narrative presents a first-person account in which an individual recalls youthful ambitions, a serious wound that prompted prolonged spiritual reflection, and a gradual conversion shaped by reading lives of the saints and intense prayer. He describes pilgrimages and lengthy retreats, periods of study, and the formulation of practical spiritual guidance later shared with companions. The account traces the gradual organization of a communal religious way of life, the administrative and external difficulties encountered, and the interior practices and intentions that animated his leadership and teaching.