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(This note has been written only for speleostamp freaks or fanatics of Jesuitism)


What the founder of the Society of Jesus, i.e. the Jesuit order, is doing in a cave  stamp collection? Only for one thing, which, as far as I know, has not been mentioned so far in our microcosm. In 1522, Inigo Lopez de Loyola, the future San Ignacio (1491?-1556), after going into retreat to the monastery of Montserrat, lived in seclusion at Manresa, Spanish Catalonia -- 67 km NW of Barcelona -- in what is now known as the Santa Cueva (in Catalan Santa Cova).

There he wrote Spiritual Exercises, his most famous book, still the base of Jesuitic spirituality. Ignatius' stay inside the "cave" is mentioned quite often. The cave is located in the Manresa monastery of Jesuits, on the bank of the river Cardoner. It is covered with somptuous ornamentation, work of two local sculptors, Grau and Sunyer (XVIIth-XVIIIth centuries).

I have never seen the cave, which is certainly not a great sight from a mere speleological point of view... The next International Congress of Speleology which will be held in Barcelona in 1986 will give us the opportunity to visit the cave and check that point.

Now the stamps: I have found stamps showing San Ignacio from his home Country, Spain, from the Vatican, and from Paraguay, a Spanish speaking country where the Jesuits were very influent. The lists are taken from Yvert et Tellier catalogue (1977!)Left prices are mint, right used (in French Francs).

Let us know if you discover other stamps showing Ignatius' bald head...