During a lengthy recuperation from a cannonball wound to his leg, Ignatius' only diversion was reading the two books available to him: a collection of lives of the saints, and a life of Christ. This, and his time spent in prayer, profoundly changed him. After his conversion, he became a pilgrim and a hermit for a time. Eventually he studied theology and was ordained a priest. A gifted spiritual director, he compiled the Spiritual Exercises, which are still used as a tool for discernment today. He founded the Society of Jesus in 1534.
