Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s vision at Storta cave

The Spaniard Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) is especially remembered as the founder of the Society of Jesus. Born into a noble family, his interest in the spiritual life awoke after he was wounded in the battle of Pamplona, in 1521. During his convalescence, the saint read numerous religious texts that prompted him to make a pilgrimage to Holy Land, where he preached the Christian faith, although his stay there was very short. 

In his new religious life, Ignatius undertook numerous journeys and lived mystical experiences that would mark his work as a priest. One of the saint’s visions occurred in November 1537, in a cave located close to La Storta chapel, located on the outskirts of Rome. 

Two men accompanied Ignatius on his pilgrimage through Italian lands, Diego Laínez and Peter Faber. Both men met the saint at the University of Paris and supported him in his idea of founding the Jesuit order. Both appear portrayed in the background plane of the painting. 

According to saint’s life accounts, while he was in the cave, he had a clear and vivid vision of God, who appears on the canvas holding an orb as a representation of the world, and of Jesus Christ, whom we see carrying the cross. In the image, the protagonists of the vision are accompanied by a dove that symbolizes the Holy Spirit and by angels that support the clouds on which the Father and Son rest. 

According to the narration of the vision, Jesus pronounced the phrase: Ego vobis Romae propitiuos ero, which translated means ‘I will be propitious to you in Rome’. In the painting, this Latin expression is located in a phylactery that seems to emerge from the mouth of Christ. 

The words of Jesus Christ refer to the fact that Saint Ignatius was seeking papal permission to establish the Society of Jesus. Just as the vision of the saint anticipated, in 1540 Pope Paul III recognized this new religious order that had great importance during the colonial period.