What follows is my attempt to chronicle and recreate a few of experiences in Spain and France this summer for those interested. Focus primarily will rest on history and religion, and in particular the history that lives in the churches and castles that line the pilgrim roads to Santiago Compostella in Spain.

The Muslim conquest of the Holy Land in the Seventh and Eighth centuries caused the traditional pilgrimage to Jerusalem to become increasingly dangerous. As the Middle Ages unfolded, the journey across the Pyrenees and into Spain to the traditional burial place of St. James became the dominant pilgrimage route. The results were dramatic. The first great wave of Christian churches in the Middle Ages sprung up along the pilgrim roads - the age of Romanesque was born. Architecture, spirituality, culture and politics would all be dramatically affected by the great mass of Medieval Christians on the road to Compostella.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The Ignatian Trail: Part 1

The story of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, is famous and much-told. A worldly soldier fighting for Spain in the 16th C. , he was struck down by a canonball in a heroic defense of the citadel at Pamplona. Returned to his house for a lengthy recovery, he requested books be brought to him that recounted fantastic taled of knights, maidens and glory. Instead, all they had was The Life of Christ and Lives of the Saints. After months of reading and contemplating his former life of sin he concluded that true, lasting peace was only found in Christ. He resolved to give up his life of sin and become a soldier for Christ in the spiritual battle.

After leaving his house he first journeyed to the mountaintop shrine of Montserrat. He went to visit the famous statue of the Black Madonna. He spent all night standing guard in front of the image. At the end of the night, he laid down his sword at her feet, left the church, exchanged his noble clothes with those of a beggar and went to live in a cave doing prayer and penance. It is still a major shrine and pilgrimage destination. Here are some images of our visit.

Looking out over the monastery at Montserrat, the blog begins (not too much penance, though).


Isabel going to see the shrine.
The black circle marks the spot where Ignatius spent the night in front of the Madonna.

The new church (late 16th C., I think) was built after the visit of Ignatius
The grand doorway to the old church that Ignatius went through.



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