12. Ignatius in Rome

 

Ignatius arrived in Rome in November 1537. He and his companions were soon busy preaching and giving the Spiritual Exercises. They had to suffer great persecution in Rome from Michael Landivar who had been friendly with him in Paris but had now turned against the group, especially against Ignatius. Only when their name was cleared did Ignatius and his companions present themselves to the Pope.

 

Pope Paul III was anxious to reform the Church but did not have enough priests who were both learned and holy. So when this group of well trained and deeply spiritual priests offered themselves to him to do anything that he would ask them to do, the Pope exclaimed, “The finger of God is here”. He soon gave all of them work in and around Rome.

 

This little group still hoped that they would get a chance to go to the Holy Land. Knowing their secret desires to go to the Holy Land, the Pope Paul III asked them, “Why do you want to go to the Holy Land? Italy is indeed a true and good Jerusalem if you want to yield fruit for the Church of God.” These words of the Pope had a great effect on Ignatius. He came to the realization that the kingdom of God was not just in the Holy Land. In fact, every land was Holy Land and every place was the true Jerusalem, especially if they were sent by Christ’s Vicar, the Pope.

 

Ignatius had not yet said his first Mass as he hoped to say it in Bethlehem where Our Lord was born. On Christmas night 1538, in the crypt of St. Mary Major, Ignatius said his first Mass with great devotion and he gave up his desire of going to the Holy Land. Now onwards he and his companions would find the kingdom of God everywhere. They were engaged in working unreservedly for the Pope. In addition to the teaching and sacramental works, Ignatius and his companions begged food and cared for the poor. In the winter of 1538, the companions fed and housed over 3000 poor people who otherwise would have died in the snow. The population of Rome in 1538 was only 40000.

( Coming up next.   Chapter 13.Ignatius and the Society of Jesus. )

"Placed with the Son"- A short biography of St. Ignatius

 

By Fr. Lawrence Dharmaraj, SJ

 

(From the personal study notes under the guidance of late Fr. Maurice Dullard, SJ. 

A special thanks to Fr.Vincent Saldanha s.j for doing the necessary corrections))