Sanctuary of Loyola, Azpeitia, Spain

The Sanctuary of Loyola consists of a series of edifices built in Churrigueresque Baroque style around the birthplace of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus.

Ignatius of Loyola, whose real name was Iñigo López de Loyola, was the son of the Lord of Loyola, Beltrán Ibáñez de Oñaz and Marina Sánchez de Licona, member of an important Biscayan family. He was born in 1491 in his family house in Loyola.

After he died his birthplace became a place of veneration. In the seventeenth century the house where he was born was given to the Society of Jesus. The Order built there, near the birthplace of its founder, the Sanctuary of Loyola.

In 1900 the Society commissioned an altar for the sanctuary, employing metalwork artist Plácido Zuloaga, who had won international success creating intricate artworks by damascening, a technique which inlays gold and silver into iron. Zuloaga's iron structure houses panels depicting the life of St. Ignatius, and supports a damascened crucifix and candlesticks from the workshop of José Felipe Artamendi.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Spain

User Reviews

Sajeev Jose (2 years ago)
It is the Basilica surrounding the house of St Ignatius Loyola where he was born and later had his conversion experience. It's a holy place. The house of Ignatius is beautiful and is preserved in is original glory. The room where he had his conversion is turned into a chapel. It's the centre of the world for the Jesuits and the Ignatian family.

Julian Dawson (3 years ago)
Birthplace of the founder of the Jesuit order, it has been beautifully restored in modern times, but in antiquity has developed as a basilica, a college of learning, a shrine and now, the greater part not accessible to the public is a retirement place for Jesuit priests. The publically accessible buildings are stunning, the basilica on its own is worth the visit.

Michael Mohr (3 years ago)
The second most important church for the Society of Jesus. A beautiful Baroque-style, circular church nestled in the heartland of the Basque Country. Attached is the childhood home of Saint Ignatius, now wonderfully preserved as a museum.

Andy Gustafson (3 years ago)
Gorgeous Church in fantastic museum. Lovely surrounding gardens as well.

Bernd Henne (4 years ago)
beautiful village in a wunderful landscape with the basilica of Ignacio de Liyola.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Sanctuary of Loyola

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche