AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

Questioned and jailed again in Salamanca, Ignatius remains joyful in chains and continues speaking about God. Although the authorities find no error in his teaching, their restrictions convince him that he needs further education, and he resolves to study in Paris.

About the Series
We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic.

The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed.

The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey.

"The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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A few weeks ago, we welcomed Dr. Michele Murray here on AMDG. Dr. Murray is the new president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. To keep up this back-to-school theme, our two guests today are leaders of the Jesuit Schools Network of North America (JSN), which is the network of 90 Jesuit secondary and pre-secondary schools in our region of the world. JSN serves as a hub, bringing together faculty and staff from our schools to help them learn from each other and grow into even stronger institutions.

Our first guest is Jen LaMaster, who began serving as JSN’s executive director this past July. Before taking on this role, she was a leader for secondary education for the Jesuits’ Midwest Province. She also spent 13 years in leadership roles at Brebeuf Jesuit Prep in Indianapolis. Our second guest is Lauren Hackman-Brooks, who is JSN’s director of mission formation. She spends her time helping schools to live out their Catholic, Jesuit identities in bold and creative ways. Lauren has spent her entire career in Jesuit education, from post-college volunteer service at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago to four years leading mission engagement at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

Host Mike Jordan Laskey loved hearing Jen’s and Lauren’s 30,000-foot perspective on Jesuit education. He asked them about the biggest challenges school leaders are facing today and how Jesuit schools can stand out in a very crowded high school marketplace. What makes our schools unique? Jen and Lauren both bring a huge amount of passion, energy and insight to the work, and we think you’ll learn a lot about the state of Jesuit secondary education today.

More about the JSN: https://jesuitschoolsnetwork.org/

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Ignatius humbly begins again as a student, learning that even apparently spiritual consolations can distract him from the work God is asking him to do. In Alcalá, his teaching and spiritual conversations bear fruit but also attract scrutiny, investigation and imprisonment.

About the Series
We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic.

The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed.

The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey.

"The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/

1773 was the year in which the Society of Jesus ceased to exist. Pressured by European leaders, Pope Clement XIV issued a Papal brief formally suppressing the Jesuits worldwide. 41 years would pass before, in 1814, Pope Pius VII formally restored the Society.

In those intervening years, a number of important questions emerged that would shape the Jesuits, the Church and the world. Arguably one of those pressing questions, one that pointed to the foundation of the Ignatian charism, was this: What would become of the Spiritual Exercises? Countless lives had been changed thanks to Ignatius’ spiritual wisdom, and the Church knew that to lose that wisdom—to lose the Exercises—along with the Jesuits would be disastrous. The world needed the Exercises.

So, in the wake of the Suppression of the Society of Jesus, different religious order emerged to carry on the mantle of the Ignatian tradition. One such order—the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, founded by Venerable Bruno Lanteri who himself was formed by Jesuits—took it upon themselves to continue offering the Spiritual Exercises. Their work and mission continued, even after the restoration of the Society of Jesus.

And in fact, one of the most preeminent writers on Ignatian discernment—Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV—is our guest today. And as you’ll hear, he stresses the essential work that is the ministry of the Exercises, and how the Oblates and the Jesuits continue to work together in this mission. The Exercises, after all, are a gift to all of God’s people.

Fr. Gallagher has a wonderful new book out from Ignatius Press that underlines this point. It’s called “Thinking Like a Saint: Discernment of Spirits in the Catholic Tradition.” In it, he walks readers through Ignatius’ 14 Rules for Discernment. But he does so by grounding each rule in the wisdom of saints who came long before or well after Ignatius. In so doing, Fr. Gallagher reminds us that Ignatius’ great contribution was giving language to our shared human experience—and God’s Spirit at work therein.

Fr. Gallagher was ordained to the priesthood in 1979 as a member of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. In 1983, he obtained his doctorate from The Pontifical Gregorian University, and became a spiritual director and retreat leader. He has taught at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, and Our Lady of Grace Seminary Residence, Boston, both in Massachusetts. In 2015, Father Gallagher accepted the St. Ignatius Chair for Spiritual Formation at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. He has written over twenty books on spiritual themes, published articles in Catholic periodicals, appears frequently on Catholic television, and records many podcasts, radio interviews, series on YouTube, and virtual events used throughout the English-speaking Catholic world.

If you’d like to learn more about Fr. Gallagher and his work, visit discernment.institute. You can also find his newest book “Thinking Like a Saint” and more wherever books or sold. Or visit https://ignatius.com/thinking-like-a-saint-tlsp/

Ignatius survives storms, winter travel, suspicion and arrest as he makes his way back across Europe. Convinced that he must study before he can better help others, he turns toward Barcelona and the next stage of his pilgrimage.

About the Series
We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic.

The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed.

The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey.

"The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/