July 10, 2009

The first 'black pope'

This is the statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) which stands inside the main campus of the Ateneo de Manila University. Ignatius (also Iñigo or Ignacio) is the Basque founder of the Society of Jesus. The sculpture depicts an important moment in his life, when he decided to turn his back on his military past and dedicate the rest of his life to following and serving God. He went to the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat where he left his sword and military vestments before an image of Mary. If you look closely, you'll notice that the sword is chained to Ignatius' wrist. It's an almost-irresistible temptation for graduating students who want a special memento of their Ateneo years. It's still the rainy season in the Philippines and our skies in Metro Manila have been this dreary almost everyday this past week.

statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola

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29 comments:

James said...

Cool statue, I like his pose.

Dina said...

I didn't know this about Ignatius.
It is a statue to remember , but hopefully not by way of having the sword as your souvenir. :)

Had a good read at your links and at the monastery website. What a place!
Thanks.

Olivier said...

merci pour cette belle histoire. La statue est très belle.

VP said...

Beautiful statue, great man. You mean that some swords have been stolen in the past?

u.c. said...

Well, this is such an interesting part of history. The posture in the picture is very impressive and your commentary is so meaningful.

Photo Cache said...

Very interesting information. I miss those gray wet days.

Louise said...

Nice post; very interesting.

Jim said...

Good subject for skywatch.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Danton said...

A bit of info can lighten up the sky, specially about a saint!

Lowell said...

Beautiful statue, beautiful photograph!

I wonder how many of those swords they've had to replace?

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

So nice to come to your blog because I always learn something!

Sarah A. Galang, Ph.D. said...

Nice photo. Thanks for the visit.

http://bacolodandbeyond.blogspot.com

Regina said...

Nice one.
Happy weekend Hilda.

Don and Krise said...

What a wonderful statue Hilda. The artist managed to capture emotion in his face. Also a good contribution to SkyWatch Friday.

Unknown said...

nice shot! interesting statue.

Anonymous said...

What a neat sculpture.

Sunshinelene said...

Interesting sky photo.

It's also rainy over here in Iligan City, Hilda.

Thank you so much for the visit at my entry. I love also the sepia one.

Happy weekend!

Arlene
http://www.midlifedancing.com/

Alexander said...

Nicely titled. The post of the statue is really cool!

Have a great weekend.

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

B SQUARED said...

Would there were more Ignatius's in the world.

Unknown said...

This is an interesting post and great info. I've heard of the saint but never got into details. Thanks for the visit Hilda.

Halcyon said...

I didn't know that story about St Ignatius. Loyola is very popular down here in the south. There's a Catholic school named after him in New Orleans. It's nice to know a little more about his legend.

Hope you skies clear up for a fabulous weekend! Happy Friday!!

Lois said...

It's a beautiful statue Hilda! It's funny that the sword has to be chained to his wrist. I'm never surprised at what students will attempt.

penny said...

What a wonderful lesson, Hilda. I always enjoy learning something new from you. Thanks for all you efforts, I and others do appreciate it...
Your skies look just like our today. I guess its true when they say 'unto each life a little rain must fall' but not to worry.. soon the sun will shine again :D

luvmyboys said...

Great photo! I like how he's looking up toward the heavens.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Hilda: Neat shot of the Pope in the sky.

Baruch said...

Great point of view and interesting info

Hilda said...

Vogon Poet:
Yes, definitely.

Jacob:
I have to ask campus security. I hope they keep records! :)

George said...

I like this statue! I can imagine what a temptation that sword is for students. Our skies here have been cloudy as well, but not much rain.

Anonymous said...

The statue has so much important message with it.Every good person definitely should follow god.LORD JESUS CHRIST.

peter

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