"Spring begins gently in the Ebro valley. At the beginning of March,
1522, Inigo rode happily by Logrono and Tudela towards Catalonia, towards
the adventures he was dreaming of
for God. He still wore his rich clothing, but near his heart he
carried his one legacy from
Loyola, a little picture of the Mother of Sorrows ...
In Igualada, at the foot of Montserrat he bought a garment of hemp
line, a rope girdle, a pilgrim staff, a gourd, and rope sandals to protect
his aching feet. It was to be his new
uniform at his night's vigil before Our Lady's statue...
Proud in his lowliness, Inigo in his new garments approached for
the first time the dark
Madonna. He was unrecognized. His good sword hung on the grill as
his gift of dedication ...
Inigo stood or knelt motionless, as the old knightly custom demanded.
At midnight the monks
chanted Matins ...
At two o'clock commenced the pilgrims' Mass. The clear voices of the choirboys intoned: 'Hail, Thou Morning Star'. Inigo received with consuming love the sacramental body of his Lord, whom now he would serve forever. In the gray morning light the pilgrim strode down into the valley."
from "St. Ignatius of Loyola" -- (1491-1556) by Hugo Rahner, SJ
This icon was commissioned by a Jesuit Priest at Creighton University,
Omaha, Nebraska.