- Aerial view of Loyola and Azcoitia
- Map of Spain
Our story opens up on the kingdom of Castile and Leon, of central and northern Spain, at the end of the 15th century, which at that time claimed jurisdiction over the Basque province of Guipúzcoa where the house of Loyola was located. (The towns located here will be associated with the story as it unfolds). The reigning monarchs, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand (Reyes Catolicos), had already been approached by Christopher Columbus to explore a western passage to the Indies, but resources, money and royal attention had been given over to the reconquest of the lands of Spain from the Moors which was finalized in January, 1492 with the victory of the Catholic monarchs at the battle of Granada.
- Map of the Province of Guipúzcoa
Iñigo López de Loyola was born in the previous year of 1491 (probably in October) in the town of Azpeitia where the Oñaz-Loyola family had flourished since the 13th century as lords of the manor house and surrounding estates. Don Beltrán Ibáñez de Oñaz y Loyola (1439-1507), father of Ignatius married Doña Marina Sáenz de Licona y Balda in 1467, whose father was a lawyer representing the royal throne of Castile as "council to the King and auditor of the court of justice" in the nearby town of Azcoitia.
- Basilica of Loyola
Today, the 300 year-old Basilica Church, Jesuit residence and modern retreat house wrap around the original manor house protecting it for posterity which is located along side the small Urola River that flows through the Olatz-Iraugi valley known for its lush green pastures, orchards and prosperous hillside farms.
- Front Door of the House of Loyola (Santa Casa)
The large front door of the original house and the more modern statues of the saint provide the scale of the three story stone and brick building of unmistakably mudejar (moorish) inspiration. Above the arched entrance may be seen a carved block of stone which represents the coat of arms of the house of Loyola: Two wolves rampant on either side of a hanging cauldron, symbolizing hospitality, a virtue for which the Basque people have always been justly celebrated.
- Crest of the two wolves and cauldron
Although there is no record of the royal grant of arms to either side of the Oñaz-Loyola family, the two wolves and the cauldron have simply been appropriated into the varied shields, crests and coat of arms of the many Jesuit schools, churches, residences and activities around the world thus universalizing the name of Loyola.
- House of Loyola (before the time of the basilica)
Reaching back into historical time one recognizes the ancient house of the Loyola family. The two upper stories of the castle had suffered demolition as punishment to the grandfather of Ignatius, Juan Pérez de Loyola (including other local nobles), for infractions of the law and disturbing the peace. The sentence also included banishment to southern Spain to assist in the fight against the Moors. Only the king's (Enrique IV ...... ) clemency cut short the term of exile and permitted the restoration but without the original towers and fortifications. Ignatius' grandfather rebuilt the house as it appears today with the two upper stories of arabesque brickwork on the original massive stone walls.
- Baptism of Ignatius in St. Sebastián de Soreasu
The local pastor, Juan de Zábala, baptized Iñigo, the youngest of 13 children at the church of San Sebastián de Soreasu. Iñigo was named after the 11th century Benedictine saint and abbot of Oña near Burgos. (It was forty years later, during his student years at Paris that Iñigo, in addition to his baptismal name, adopted the more familiar name of Ignatius.) What little formal education Ignatius received during his early childhood ...... was at the hand of the local pastor and his assistant which included the study of Spanish, in addition to his native Basque language, and basic writing and reading.
- Eguibar House
It appears that the mother of Ignatius died while he was still an infant as he was put out to nurse with María de Garín young wife of a blacksmith, whose modest cottage still stands less than a 10 minute walk from the house of Loyola. It was María de Garín that taught him his first prayers in the native Guipúzcoan Basque language.
- Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand at Court
In efforts to unite the country of Spain, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand met with the courts at different places and is here shown with their young daughter Catherine of Aragón (who later became Queen of England with King Henry VIII). One of the courtiers (such as one on the left), a young woman, beloved of Isabella, well educated by standards of her time and with a rich dowry, was María Magdalena de Araoz, whose father was the provost of the city of San Sebastián. María Magdalena eventually married the oldest surviving brother of Ignatius, Don Martin García (1498 at the palace of Ocaños) becoming the matron of the house of Loyola and guardian of Ignatius' boyhood years.
- Icon in the chapel at the House of Loyola
One of the wedding presents was a Flemish painting, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, gift of Queen Isabella to Doña Magdalena and Don Martin García, which still hangs over the altar of the house chapel at Loyola, a gift which endeared the family of Loyola to the royal monarchs.
- Deathbed scene of Queen Isabella with the king
It seems that subsequent to the death of Queen Isabella in 1504, the former councilor to the court of the Queen and present chief treasurer of Castile, Juan Velasquez de Cuéllar (a brother to Diego Velasquez de Cuéllar ...... , first governor of Cuba), a man known all over Spain and friend of Ignatius' father, asked Beltrán de Loyola, by means of a letter, to send him one of his sons that he might bring him up in his splendid household and later introduce him to the world of the court. The letter, as far as can be determined, was well-received and Ignatius as a young teenager was chosen and began this new life far from his native homeland.
