The Castle of Xavier (Javier) in Navarre

Day Three: Javier

by Eric Sundrup, S.J. October 18, 2018

Video excerpts for each site were recorded in 2015 This morning we left Bilbao and headed to the Castle of Xavier (Javier) in Navarre. Dating back to the 10th century, the castle was the birthplace and childhood home of Saint Francis Xavier, who was a classmate and roommate of Ignatius of Loyola when they […]

Discovered in 1468, the shrine that housed Our Lady of Arantzazu was already a popular place for pilgrimage and devotion before Ignatius was even born

Journeys

Day Two: Arantzazu

by Eric Sundrup, S.J. October 17, 2018

Video excerpts for each site were recorded in 2015 Today we purposefully moved at a much slower pace. We visited only one site and spent time in silent reflection at the Franciscan Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu in Oñati, in the province of Guipuzcoa, Basque Country, Spain. At the time of St. Ignatius […]

The baptismal font at San Sebastián church in Azpeitia. This is likely the same font used to baptize St. Ignatius

Journeys

Day One: Loyola

by Eric Sundrup, S.J. October 15, 2018

Today we visited the large and impressive Sanctuary (or Basilica) of Loyola in the municipality of Azpeitia, including the actual castle tower in which St. Ignatius was born and where he grew up. Ignatius was born in Loyola in 1491, the youngest of 13 children. His mother died soon after he was born and […]