The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola were Composed

As efforts at spiritual reformation surfaced in light of the corruption that had taken hold in the Church throughout Europe, Saint Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, a religious order aimed at obedience and loyalty to the Pope. A Spanish priest and theologian, Ignatius aligned himself with the pro-Catholic counter-reformation movement; however, he did not support the corruptive practices of the Papal clergy. Motivated by a desire to restore the Catholic faith, he composed the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, a set of prayers, meditations, and practices designed to help Christians (primarily Catholics) understand the nature of their relationship to God. Split into four thematic week-long sections, this piece of literature is evidence of the religious shift from a focus on the divinity of God to a focus on the significance of the individual in relation to God.  (Image Source: St. Ignatius of Loyola (1st. ed.) [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3228172)