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How did St. Francis Xavier become a companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola?

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Engraving by Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens showing St. Ignatius of Loyola with a halo, hands clasped in prayer before a crucifix and open book. — St. Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish theologian who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1534. The Jesuit order received official papal approval in 1540 and became a key player in the Counter-Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries.

St. Francis Xavier became a companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola while both were students at the University of Paris.1

In 1529, Ignatius—who was 15 years his senior and had already undergone a profound religious conversion—was assigned to room with Francis. Although Francis was initially recalcitrant, Ignatius gradually won him over to his ideals. Francis subsequently performed The Spiritual Exercises, a series of meditations devised by Ignatius to guide individuals in the service of God.1

This relationship culminated on August 15, 1534, when Francis joined a small band of seven men in a chapel on Montmartre in Paris. There, they bound themselves by vows of poverty and celibacy, promising to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to devote their lives to the salvation of others. This group became the founding members of the Society of Jesus.213