Back when I was still a Fundamental Baptist, some Fundamentalists still honored John Calvin and Martin Luther, as heroes of the faith. Ignatius of Loyola (real name is Iñigo López de Loyola) was the founder of the Jesuit Order. I may have given up researching Jesuit conspiracy theories (many are pretty exaggerated), but I still research church history when available.
Reasons to Believe shows this amazing fact about Ignatius of Loyola and Calvin:
2. Calvin was classmates with Ignatius of Loyola at the University of Paris.
A little known fact of history is that two of the greatest figures of the Reformation clash between Protestants and Catholics in the sixteenth century, John Calvin and Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), went to school together at the University of Paris. (Talk about having a distinguished list of alumni—Catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas had also studied at the University of Paris some three centuries earlier.) As part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation (a direct response to the Protestants), Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus—popularly known as the Jesuits. It was the Jesuits who provided a strenuous Catholic critique of Calvin’s Protestant theology. One can only wonder if these two brilliant and powerful men, in the midst of historical tumult, ever desired to get together to reminisce about their school days together.
Calvin was a second-generation reformer, 26 years younger than Martin Luther. That means the Presbyterian denomination came much later. The Counter-Reformation was established in 1545, which was meant to counter the Reformation. However, there was one thing the Reformers wanted to be, not reformers, just being biblical. Calvin was described to be this:
Unlike Luther, whose bold, talkative, and charismatic personality sparked the juggernaut called the Protestant Reformation, Calvin was a second-generation reformer (twenty-six years younger than Luther) who was quiet, shy, and reflective. His reserved personality no doubt contributed to his reputation for being cold, cerebral, and unsociable. Yet the people who knew him well, such as his famous student Theodore Beza, spoke of his graciousness and his genuine concern for those who suffered. And despite his fiery temper, Calvin found common cause with other significant leaders of the Reformation such as Philip Melanchthon, Heinrich Bullinger, and Martin Bucer.
As I was thinking about how Calvin's legacy actually left a huge impact on later church history. It's because the true Church marches on regardless of what impostors may show up. Roman Catholicism has been pretending to be the true Church, but its teachings override the Bible. Sola Scripura means that in faith and matters, the Scripture is the final authority. Luther translated a copy of the Catholic Bible (which was in Latin) into German. In fact, the Bible was forbidden to the laity for a long time. Doing so resulted in the martyrdom of Christians, even before the Protestant Reformation.
‘We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old and the New Testament; unless anyone from the motives of devotion should wish to have the Psalter or the Breviary for divine offices or the hours of the blessed Virgin; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.’ (Edward Peters. Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, Council of Toulouse, 1229, Canon 14, p 195.)
‘Since it is clear from experience that if the Sacred Books are permitted everywhere and without discrimination in the vernacular, there will by reason of the boldness of men arise therefrom more harm than good, the matter is in this respect left to the judgment of the bishop or inquisitor, who may with the advice of the pastor or confessor permit the reading of the Sacred Books translated into the vernacular by Catholic authors to those who they know will derive from such reading no harm but rather an increase of faith and piety, which permission they must have in writing. Those, however, who presume to read or possess them without such permission may not receive absolution from their sins till they have handed them over to the ordinary. Bookdealers who sell or in any other way supply Bibles written in the vernacular to anyone who has not this permission, shall lose the price of the books, which is to be applied by the bishop to pious purposes, and in keeping with the nature of the crime they shall be subject to other penalties which are left to the judgment of the same bishop. Regulars who have not the permission of their superiors may not read or purchase them.’ (Council of Trent: Rules on Prohibited Books, approved by Pope Pius IV, 1564).
Above are quotes that Just for Catholics retrieved from history itself. It's been well-documented that people were often punished for reading the Bible. Today, Catholic apologists say it's just a lie, and the worst part is, they believe that it's a lie. It's because even the most professional apologists boldly defend what they defend as truth. They're so caught up in the lie that they think it's the truth.
Calvin went to his works, such as his Geneva Bible (a forerunner of the KJV) and the Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Jesuits went forth with the Counter-Reformation, hoping to spread Roman Catholicism across the world, like the true Church seeks to spread Christianity around the world. Ignatius of Loyola, along with other figures, like Charles Borromeo (whose uncle was Pope Pius IV, probably nepotism involved), tried to undo the damage done by the Reformation. The name Protestant was an insult given by the Roman Catholic institution. However, the name was gladly borne by the Christians who protested against Rome. Technically, people like Jan Hus, Jerome of Prague, and Girolamo Savonarola are also Protestants. The name Protestant didn't happen until the Reformation.
I used to attend a Jesuit parish. I almost wanted to become a Catholic priest in my younger years. If I did, I could've become a Martin Luther. I may have nailed the 95 Theses on the bulletin board of that parish.