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Our Twelve Windows
From dawn to dusk, in the darkest hour as well as in the brightest;
the House of God is the constant still-point in an ever-changing world of rush and change.
Standing in St Margaret's, you are surrounded by twelve beautiful stained glass windows depicting saints from the past. With the clock-style aerial view of the church below, you can view all twelve.
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About St Ignatius (of Loyola):
Born of Spanish nobility in 1491, Inigo Lopez de Loyola was the youngest of twelve children, a court page, given a military education, which led him to become a soldier. He was wounded in the leg by a cannonball at the siege of Pampeluna on 20 May 1521, an injury that left him partially crippled for life. During his recuperation the only books he had access to were The Golden Legend, a collection of lives of the saints, and the Life of Christ by Ludolph the Carthusian. These books, and the time spent in contemplation, changed him.
On his recovery he took a vow of chastity, hung his sword before the altar of the Virgin of Montserrat, and donned a pilgrim's robes. He lived in a cave from 1522 to 1523 and then journeyed to Rome and the Holy Land where he worked to convert Muslims. He studied theology at Alcala and Paris, receiving his degree on 14th March 1534. His meditations, prayers, visions and insights led to forming the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) on 15th August 1534. He travelled Europe and the Holy Lands, then settled in Rome to direct the Jesuits. His health suffered in later years, and he was nearly blind when he died on the 31st of July 1556.
He was beatified 1609 by Pope Paul V, and canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.
The Jesuits today have over 500 universities and colleges, 30,000 members, and teach over 200,000 students each year.
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