Basque theologian Ignatius of Loyola (Basque: Ignazio Loiolakoa), founder of the Jesuits, spent 1522 in Manresa, during which time he was inspired to write his Spiritual Exercises. He prayed in a natural hillside cave, which over the years evolved into this splendid sanctuary. The elaborately carved exterior sidewall is a late-baroque 17th-century work, while the 18th-century church's main facade is watched over by a sculpture of the saint. Inside, a richly decorated 'antecave' gives way to the much-treasured Saint Ignatius cave-chapel.
Cova de Sant Ignasi
Catalonia
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