A Companion to Ignatius of Loyola

The Companion to Ignatius of Loyola aims at placing Loyola’s life, his writings, and spirituality in a broader context of important late medieval and early modern movements and processes that have been appreciated too little by historians who explored Ignatius more as the colossal icon of the so-called Counterreformation than as a man influenced by the dramatic and revolutionary period in which he lived. One book will be never able to cover all aspects of such rich and controversial a figure as Ignatius of Loyola but the fifteen chapters of this volume indicate important directions of current scholarship that reassesses the previous scholarship and suggests new angles of studies on this pivotal figure of early modern period.

An interview with editor Robert A. Maryks about this Companion is available on YouTube.

Robert Aleksander Maryks, Ph.D. (2006) in History, Fordham University, is Associate Professor of History and director of the Institute of Jesuit Sources at Boston College. He has published on various aspects of the history of the Jesuits, including Saint Cicero and the Jesuits (Ashgate, 2008), The Jesuit Order as a Synagogue of Jews (Brill, 2009), Pouring Jewish Water into Fascist Wine (Brill, 2011), and “The Tragic Couple.” Encounters Between Jews and Jesuits (Brill, 2013; co-edited with James Bernauer). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Jesuit Studies and the book series Jesuit Studies, and the General Editor of The New Sommervogel. Jesuit Library Online (Brill/Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, 2014).

“This book represents a significant advance for the field of Ignatian studies. It is an essential tool for research libraries and specialists. It is fruitful reading for all wanting to stay abreast of current scholarship about Ignatius and the Jesuits, and required reading for those inclined to join this important scholarly conversation.”
Timothy W. O’Brien, Centre Sèvres, Facultés jésuites (Paris). In: Speculum, Vol. 92, No. 3 (July 2017), pp. 854-855.

“This volume demonstrates the vibrancy and variety of current research on the historical Ignatius, seeking to demythologize a canonized saint and founder whose life has been falsely represented both by admirers and detractors.”
Thomas Worcester, SJ, College of the Holy Cross. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Winter 2016), p. 1402.

“This book is a welcome addition to the literature on Ignatius of Loyola (ca.1491–1556) and the Society of Jesus. … The volume is nicely produced, including thirteen illustrations reproduced from early lives of Ignatius.”
Michael O’Connor, University of Toronto. In: Renaissance and Reformation, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Winter 2016), pp. 192-194.

“All the chapters identify a specific, overlooked or heretofore simplistically theorized issue in the life and influence of Ignatius, offer a new method by which to approach it, and begin the process of gathering evidence based on the method. Thus all are initial interventions at the cutting edge of Ignatian scholarship, but none purports to be the final answer, making this volume not only a survey of the field but a concerted call to further research.”
Jessica A. Boon, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In: Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 47. No. 2 (2016), pp. 460-462.

"These essays significantly expand our knowledge of Ignatian and Jesuit history and spirituality."
Robert E. Scully, SJ, Le Moyne College. In: Theological Studies, Vol. 77, No. 4 (December 2016), pp. 964-966.

“die sehr lesenswerten fünfzehn Beiträge [bieten] neue Einsichten zu Ignatius und der Frühgeschichte des Ordens.”
Anne Conrad, Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken. In: Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte, Jg. 45 (2016), p. 24.