The Rome of Saint Ignatius, the program for the Ignatian itineraries in September

VATICAN CITY, July 08, 2022 / 2:00 PM (ACI Print) .-

At the end of this first series of Ignatian stages in Rome it is good to remember a beautiful initiative dedicated precisely to the “Ignatian itineraries “An initiative born in 2018 to promote knowledge of the places where Saint Ignatius of Loyola lived in Rome, spirituality and prayer in places of faith.

The guides are Francesco Rossi de Gasperis SJ who illustrates how the knowledge of the earth helps to understand the Word, the volume by Manuel Ruiz Jurado SJ The places of St. Ignatius in Rome, and thanks to Paolo Pinco Lorenzon, spiritual guide, and Francesca Giani, architect expert in the history of the territory, in 2015 a first pilgrimage from La Storta to Rome was organized in the footsteps of Saint Ignatius.

The Ignatian Itineraries include two pilgrimage formulas both with elements of Ignatian spirituality, meditation, prayer and historical and artistic information on places lived by Saint Ignatius in Rome.

“Gradually the path opened: Ignatius to Rome” One Saturday afternoon a month, starting from a particular theme dear to Saint Ignatius, the Ignatian places linked to it are retraced on foot with contemporary suggestions to the theme.

The program has just ended for the summer break but will resume with new “walks” in September, because next year will be the 500th anniversary of the first arrival of Saint Ignatius in Rome.

Dates already planned are those relating to “seeing and tasting”, drawing and meditation workshops in the three main churches of the Society of Jesus in Rome: Saturday 24 September Sant’Ignazio 16.00-18.30 Saturday 1 October church of Chiesa del Gesù 16.00-18.30 Saturday 8 October church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale 16.00 -18.30

The life drawing and meditation workshop will take place over three afternoons, each one dedicated to one of the main 3 Jesuit churches in Rome: the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in Argentina in Rome, a prototype of Jesuit architecture and the result of the work of excellent artists (Vignola, Baciccia, Della Porta), the church of Sant ‘Ignazio di Loyola with the frescoes by the Jesuit Pozzo and the Berninian church of sant ‘ Andrea al Quirinale, built for the novitiate of the Company.

Each workshop will begin with a brief historical and artistic introduction to the place linked to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, of which 500 years have passed since his conversion. We will then proceed to the presentation of the trigram of the name of Jesus (IHS) conceived by Saint Bernardino of Siena and elected as an emblem of the Society of Jesus as well as an icon of the Church dedicated to the name of Jesus.. The workshop led by Francesca Giani, Marta Dante, Emanuele Gambuti, Anahita Aryan will end with the photograph of the participants’ works in order to create a “drawn abecedary” of techniques and representations of the signs of Ignatian spirituality.