St. Ignatius of Loyola is the patron saint of soldiers and of all spiritual retreats. Early in his life, St. Ignatius served as a knight and was employed in military undertakings and on a diplomatic mission. He turned to the spiritual life while convalescing from an injury he had suffered in the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. His importance to spiritual retreats stems from his book The Spiritual Exercises, a manual that contains a vital and dynamic system of spirituality.