Azpeitia, Part Two: Sanctuary of Loyola

Writing and photos by Anna

The Sanctuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola at sunset.

While much of Azpeitia looks as it did when St. Ignatius lived there, its most famous landmark wasn't built until after his death. The Sanctuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola dates from the Baroque era in the 1600s and stands atop part of the Loyola family estate.  Visiting the church was a beautiful experience, literally and figuratively. 

The Shrine and Basilica of Loyola

In true Baroque era fashion, the church is super ornate. I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

Interior of the sanctuary

Among the many decorations are statues of saints from St. Ignatius' religious order, the Jesuits. Like Sister Michael from Derry Girls, I do love a good statue, and I had fun seeing which saints the artists had made statues of.

Some statues are of famous saints like St. Francis Xavier (Francisco Javier in Spanish), of Xavier University fame. Others are of lesser known saints with equally fascinating stories, such as St. Alfonso Rodriguez, the beloved doorkeeper of the Jesuit college in Mallorca. 

The ceiling and its gorgeous chandelier.

Casa Natal

Next to the church is part of the Loyola family home, where St. Ignatius was born. It's called the Casa Natal (literally, "birth house") in Spanish.

This house can also be considered to be a place of a spiritual rebirth for Ignatius. While recovering from a cannonball injury, he read some spiritual books from his sister, initially out of boredom, and decided to swap his military career ambitions for going deeper in the spiritual life. (The two aren't always mutually exclusive, though they were for Ignatius.)

The Casa Natal, on the left.

The two wolves on the outside of the house are also on the Loyola family's coat of arms.

Alas, between arriving late and not knowing you had to buy tickets, I didn't get to tour the Casa Natal. But it was still cool to see it from the outside. 

Crashout and Consolation

Visiting Azpeitia was definitely a time of consolation, in St. Ignatius' words, where you feel abiding peace and joy. It was also a time of crashing out, because getting reprimanded by the employee at the ticket desk was the straw that broke the camel's back (long story). Still, the positives outweighed the negatives, and the consolation has indeed been abiding. The employee manning the church door was kind, and it was honestly really nice to be able to (silently) crash out and feel my feelings in peace once I got inside. I felt consoled in spite of the crashout, and that meant a lot to me. 

I think what I'll remember most about Azpeitia is the beauty of the landscape and the church, the kindness of people from fellow visitors to the kind church employee, and most of all, the abiding sense of peace. Azpeitia is special in so many ways, and it truly is on holy ground.