A Full Day in Loyola at the Basilica

After a nine-hour sleep, I awoke to a dark sky at 6:00 a.m. In fact, the sun did not rise until 7:45 a.m. Birds began to chirp around 7:00 and rooster crowed around 7:30. The day’s activities start late around here.


Breakfast was great. I had coconut yogurt on my granola. I love coconut. A breakfast bread with jam, fresh fruit, including kiwi, juices, pound cake, and croissants were the other components of my breakfast. Mmm. It was a good way to start the day. 


The Hotel Arrupe has its own kiwi garden in the back lawn. We started with morning prayer and then began the tour of the basilica and castle. Actually, I was interested in taking pictures so I did not get to pay too much attention to the soft-spoken tour guide. Mostly, the museum has buttons that can start an audio show in each room of the museum so many of us thought we would come back later to get an informative earful. 


The basilica fronts the Loyola castle. The castle shows the rooms where Inigo de Loyola was born in 1491 and the site of his conversion that occurred during his convalescence from his wounding at the Pamplona battle against the French. Ignatius returned defeated to Loyola where he lost his status and livelihood. 


 The room next to his conversion contained the books he read during his recovery. I found that fascinating. “The Life of Christ” and “The Lives of the Saints” were two of the books at his disposal. One of our fellow pilgrims remarked that she gazed upon the ceiling because Inigo must have spent much time looking heavenward during his period of daydreaming and wondering. 


 I enjoyed imagining what Ignatius was like pre-conversion. I wondered if I would have liked him. As a wealthy man, he probably wouldn’t have bothered with me unless I was to buy him a beer or whisky. Azpeitzia is fairly small so he was well-known throughout the town. 


 The castle and basilica were constructed with the materials from the nearby mountains. That is certainly sensible. Multi-colored marble makes the place lively with its architectural design. Sturdy wooden timbers are taken from the nearby hardwood forests. 


 We celebrated Eucharistic liturgy in the chapel of his conversion. The chapel was redone in 1985 when it was simplified. It formerly contained over 200 relics of Jesuits saints and heroes, but it was whittled down so the focus was on Ignatius’ call by Christ to be a disciple. 


 After lunch, we had a leisurely afternoon until we gathered late afternoon for a meet and greet of other pilgrims in our group. We spoke of graces that we received thus far during the time together. 


The evening was free, but with dinner at 7:30 p.m., one cannot do too much afterwards. Several of us strolled along the river near the castle after dinner. Tomorrow, we head to Azpeitzia, a five minute drive from the Basilica. We get to see the city where the young Inigo was raised and formed.