Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, who, along with Peter Faber and Francis Xavier, founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits), and became its first Superior General. He envisioned the purpose of the Society of Jesus to be missionary work and teaching. Ignatius paid particular attention to the spiritual formation of his recruits and recorded his method in the Spiritual Exercises (1548). In time, this method has become known as Ignatian spirituality.