Robert Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, celebrated the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Sunday.

“St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!” Barron tweeted.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491 in Spain to a noble family with 13 children, according to Britannica. His mother died when he was young, and he became a page for the treasurer of the kingdom of Castile. When he was around the age of 26, Ignatius became a knight. In that capacity, he spent his time on military undertakings and diplomatic missions.

Several years later, while he was defending the citadel of Pamplona against the French military, Ignatius was injured by a cannonball, Britannica says. This injury brought a chapter of life to an end during which he described himself as "a man given to the vanities of the world, whose chief delight consisted in martial exercises, with a great and vain desire to win renown." While he was recovering from his injury, Ignatius read about Jesus and the lives of the saints.

The readings deeply moved Ignatius, and Mary visited him in a vision at least once. With that, as soon as he was able he traveled to her shrine near Barcelona, according to Franciscan Media. He spent a year with a nearby Dominican Order and by himself in an isolated cave, and he began to write what would become his greatest work: “The Spiritual Exercises.”

Ignatius made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and then spent years traveling to different universities to study, according to Catholic.org. Several men soon started following Ignatius, and the group called themselves "Friends in the Lord." The group traveled to Rome, where they presented themselves to the Pope and offered to serve him. Pope Paul III approved the group as an official religious order, and they became known as the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. The Jesuits are known for their work in educating people around the world.

Today, there are more than 800 Jesuit schools around the world, including 28 colleges and universities and 62 high schools in the U.S.

Ignatius is the patron saint of the Society of Jesus, soldiers, educators and education.