Today growing numbers of pilgrims familiar with his story and spirituality follow the route Ignatius’ took in 1521 from the valley of Loyola to the medieval town of Manresa in the shadow of Montserrat.  500 years after Inigo became ‘the pilgrim’ people continue to find in his spiritual journey a guide for their own.

One of Ignatius’ greatest legacies was his ability to navigate the human heart, to notice the way the Creator works uniquely with each creature. Through his Spiritual Exercises and gift of discernment, Ignatius provided the means for others to navigate their own inner journey into spiritual freedom and companionship with Jesus.

Today the legacy of his spirituality is seen in the missionary and apostolic outreach of 14,000 Jesuits and numerous lay partners around the globe who serve the Church at the geographical, social, political, intellectual, and religious frontiers of an ever-changing globalized world.

The great gift of Ignatius’ conversion for such a world is the invitation to listen, to read the movements of the heart in times of crisis and in the midst of dreams, to discern amidst the noise of life the horizon that opens to God and the end for which we are created.

Thank you to Robert Morris SJ for this contribution to our Erromeria Pilgrimage. Rob is a Jesuit, Spiritual Director, and Giver of the Spiritual Exercises. He is Director of JISA Sevenhill South Australia.