Ignatian Way

Historical context: Ignatius of Loyola and his pilgrimage in 1522

Ignatius was born, probably in 1491, into a family of minor nobles in Spain’s Basque region. By 1521, with various local Spanish parliaments rebelling against their king, some ten thousand French troops took advantage of Spain’s internal chaos to invade the kingdom of Navarre. Severely undermanned Spanish defenders, Ignatius of Loyola among them, futilely resisted the invading forces. Ignatius was injured by cannon shot as the bastion was overrun. The victorious army took good care of him, transporting him to his home in Azpeitia, where he underwent very painful surgery for his damaged leg and, in turn, underwent a profound conversion experience during his long and painful convalescence.

He resolved to become a pilgrim and undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the first stage of which was a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady at Montserrat. He began his journey sometime in late January or early February of 1522, arriving in Montserrat on March 21. His brief autobiography devotes only eight paragraphs to this first stage of the Spanish part of his pilgrimage, recounting among other incidents a chance meeting with a Muslim and a discussion between the two men about matters of faith. This remarkable episode of “interfaith dialogue” almost ends badly when Ignatius takes offense at that Muslim’s understanding of the person of Mary.

Ignatius ended the Spanish leg of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land with more a ten month stay in the town of Manresa, an account of which occupies the largest part of his autobiography. The key spiritual experiences leading to his Spiritual Exercises took place during this time in Manresa, and these “exercises”, since practiced by millions of Christians over nearly five centuries in multiple adaptations, remain one the most famous and influential spiritual practices within Catholic Christendom. There is no overstating the importance of this phase of Ignatius’s life. As he explains in the Autobiography, “after completing sixty-two years, even if he gathered up all the various helps he may have had from God and the various things he has known, even adding them all together, he does not think he had got as much as at that one time.”

Go inside the experience of Ignatius:

Unfortunately, no traveler along the Camino Ignaciano can count on the same illuminations Ignatius enjoyed. But travelers can count on walking and worshipping where the saint did, which will console and fascinate many trekkers. It’s a safe (though not certain) bet that Ignatius visited most of the pre-16th century churches and structures identified in our website. Ignatius was a religious pilgrim in a religious culture. In smaller towns with only two or three churches, Ignatius might well have visited all of them to attend mass, pray before a locally important shrine, or listen to local friars chant the liturgy of the hours.

Ignatius would have stopped at the town’s central square to buy provisions, confirm the traveling distance to the next village, or simply to chat. To be sure, you won’t find “Ignatius of Loyola slept here” signs in Logroño, Zaragoza, Tudela, or Lleida. But at hundreds of spots along the route, you can presume that Ignatius prayed here, or shopped in this market square, walked beside this river, climbed this same hill to the shrine or monastery, or scanned astonished at this same landscape as you will.

Pilgrimage sites had proliferated throughout the Middle Ages to destinations considered holy by some association with the saintly or divine. Pilgrims set out for all kinds of reasons. Some sought favors, and many sought healing. The fear of hell became connected with the practice of going on pilgrimage, an important feature of Ignatius’s world and worldview, and this is an important difference with the modern mindset. Pilgrimage today can seem an exotic and even odd endeavor; even religious persons might know no one who has ever journeyed on pilgrimage. But pilgrimage was commonplace in medieval life. Many, many Europeans went on short pilgrimages to minor shrines near their homes, and a few had the once-in-a-lifetime privilege of journeying to Santiago de Compostela, Rome, or the Holy Land. 21st century pilgrims will need to do some imagining to appreciate the scope, practices, and theology of pilgrimage in Ignatius’s day but it is worth trying! Don’t miss this point in your pilgrimage!

The Paths of pilgrims, coming and going in different directions

During much of his pilgrim journey, Ignatius would have passed many pilgrims who were travelling in the opposite direction. He was heading south toward Montserrat and, thereafter, to ports where he could sail to the Holy Land. Most other pilgrims on these roads would have been travelling the opposite direction to Ignatius, heading along the famous Camino Santiago toward the town of Santiago de Compostela, where according to Christian tradition, the relics of St. James the apostle are reverenced.

So, more than once during his long and sometimes lonely journey, Ignatius must have felt he was swimming “upstream” as he crossed paths with so many pilgrims flowing in the opposite direction. But we can think of this as a metaphor for one for a very characteristic feature of Ignatius’s spirituality: each of us must discern God’s particular call to us, that is, the way in which God is leading us to walk for “his greater glory,” to use a common Jesuit phrase. And we must be attentive to God’s call, even when it feels to lead us “against the current” of popular opinion and fashion.

Modern pilgrims on the Camino Ignaciano will experience the same phenomenon as Ignatius. As you walk toward Manresa, you will pass many pilgrims heading the opposite direction, toward Santiago. Often you will see the distinctive yellow arrows of the Camino Santiago along the side of the road; the arrows will be pointing in the opposite way of your own journey toward Manresa. Ignatius was seeking another horizon than they, and perhaps you will likewise be called to do so.

Ignatius spent many months in Manresa, often living in primitive natural caves along the riverside, today commemorated in a chapel known as La Cueva (the cove). He wrote in his Autobiography about the many insights he gleaned about spirituality in Manresa, that God seemed to be teaching him there in the way that a patient teacher schools a little child. Perhaps you will find similar enlightenment in Manresa or along the way.

Ignatius left Manresa, ultimately destined for Jerusalem. But his pilgrimage, ultimately, was less about a geographical place than about developing a personal relationship with Jesus, and feeling the call to serve Jesus.

Pilgrims are fond of repeating an old saying: “Everyone has something to learn on the camino.” No one can predict what you yourself will gain from your pilgrimage, but this much is certain. If you journey with an open and generous spirit, you will also receive generously.

We invite you to check out the website http://caminoignaciano.org/en and learn more about the Ignatian Way!