11 Facts About Spiritual Exercises

The first printed edition of the Spiritual Exercises was published in Latin in 1548, after being given papal approval by Pope Paul III.

The culmination of this work was a "critical edition" of the Spiritual Exercises published by the Jesuit order in 1919, in the Monumenta Historica Societatis Jesu series.

Spiritual Exercises spent much of his time praying in a cave nearby, where he practiced rigorous asceticism.

Spiritual Exercises would later refine and complete the Exercises when he was a student in Paris.

The Exercises were designed to be carried out while under the guidance of a spiritual director, but they were never meant only for monks or priests: Ignatius gave the Exercises for 15 years before he was ordained, and years before the Society of Jesus was founded.

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Spiritual Exercises saw them as an instrument for bringing about a conversion or change of heart, especially in the Reformation times in which he lived.

The Spiritual Exercises have impacted the founders of other religious orders, even becoming central to their work.

Original, complete form of the Spiritual Exercises is a retreat of about 30 days in silence and solitude.

The Spiritual Exercises are divided into four "weeks" of varying length with four major themes: sin and God's mercy, episodes in the life of Jesus, the passion of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus together with a contemplation on God's love.

The Exercises are popular among lay people both in the Catholic Church and in other denominations, and lay organizations like the Christian life community place the Exercises at the center of their spirituality.

The Spiritual Exercises are seen variously as an occasion for a change of life and as a school of contemplative prayer.