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.
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