On the feast of Saint Ignatius, we recall his life and mission among the poor during his journey to Azpeitia, his hometown. Living as a poor man and in their midst, finding resources and organisation to serve them and working for reconciliation are aspects of this part of Ignatius' life. We quote this following text fromPatxi Álvarez de los Mozos (2019), Serving the Poor, Promoting Justice, Bilbao: Grupo di Comunicación Loyola Ediciones Mensajero, (pp. 32-33):

One remarkable period in Ignatius’ life was the time he spent in his native town; this allows us to form an idea of how he carried out his apostolate and what his attitude towards the poor was… Ignatius was in Azpeitia from April to July 1535, following his time in Paris. His health had deteriorated, and doctors recommended returning to the fresh air of his hometown to recuperate. At the same time, according to Ribadeneira, he had some business that he wanted to resolve to put his mind at ease. So, he set out on a little horse on the long journey back to his childhood home.

When he arrived, he did not go to his family home, as his brother had asked him to do, but instead he took up lodgings in the damp and squalid Magdalena hospital, still to this day on the outskirts of the town, on the banks of the Urola River; the furthest possible place from the Loyola family’s ancestral home. The hospital was run as a charity hospice to receive beggars and sick people. He lived there until his departure. His brothers offered him a good bed to rest on, but he refused, sleeping on the hard ground, living in the hospital in the same conditions as the poor and needy. This was how he always travelled … He survived on the alms he received from begging from door to door. What he collected he took back to the Magdalena and shared out with his poor companions, sitting like a family around the same table.

He also spent time reconciling feuding or estranged people. He restored peace in marriages failing due to the infidelity of husbands. He reunited families in conflict. He spoke, persuaded and eventually convinced them. He acted as mediator in a long conflict between the Franciscan sisters and the local clergy of the parish of Azpeitia, which had begun at the beginning of the century and had been the cause of much unrest in the Urola valley. He managed to broker an agreement between the parties, and they signed and sealed a public deed in the presence of a notary, to give it added legal security. His signature appeared in the document as a witness: Íñigo.

As his departure drew near, he wanted to consolidate all his relief efforts for the poor over the past months, so he founded two institutions. The first in volved his brother Don Martín, whom he requested to bring twelve loaves of bread to the parish every Sunday, to be distributed among the paupers “in homage to the twelve Apostles”. The second institution was more lasting in nature. Ignatius wanted the poor to have their needs adequately met, but at the same time he wanted to put an end to the abuse of unregulated begging, as it was wrongful that some people were living on alms when they could be providing for themselves through their own work. In this case he involved the town authorities who established a series of laws, by which the municipality named two people each year—they would be called “mayordomos”, one member of the clergy and one lay person—who would collect alms for local poor on Sundays and feast days. These two people would be responsible for distributing the aid, assessing the person requesting it and their degree of need. At the same time, neighbours were asked not to give alms directly, but through these two people. Finally, begging from door to door was outlawed; instead beggars were to go to these two stewards, who would be responsible for ensuring the welfare of the paupers, in knowledge of their particular situation.

In this way, Ignatius did not settle for merely alleviating the needs of the poor but sought a lasting cure for their hardships and delegated the responsibility for the institution to others; a strategy that would be employed by Jesuits in the future. After leaving Azpeitia, he left his little carthorse in the hospital.

Happy San Ignatius Day!