At the end of October, the exhibition "Ignatius Experience" was inaugurated at the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona and can be visited until 5 February. 

It is an innovative exhibition that invites visitors to interpret from their own experience what the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola would be like in the 21st century. The opening ceremony was attended by the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Archbishop Juan José Omella and the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits, Fr Antonio España SJ, as well as the Mayor of Manresa, Marc Aloy, and the Director General of Religious Affairs, Carles Armengol, among other institutional representatives.

The exhibition is visited individually and generates a constant dialogue between the life of Ignatius of Loyola, 500 years ago, and that of the visitor himself, who feels challenged throughout the itinerary. And on this route there is also a creative dialogue between historical pieces representing the life of the saint and contemporary works by artists such as Picasso.

The curator of the exhibition, the architect Josep M. Riera, believes that Ignatian spirituality makes perfect sense today and traces the thread of the exhibition in the changes that occur when someone suffers a wound. For this reason, more than an exhibition, it is an experience, which is also lived through the changes in lighting that accompany us in each room.

For the Jesuit Francesc Riera, who has advised the exhibition, "Ignatius Experience, the transforming power of a wound" is a small test of the Spiritual Exercises: if he is willing, the visitor will listen to his own uncomfortable silences as well as his own liberating silence. And, at the end, they will ask themselves what impact the visit has had on them.

The exhibition is an initiative of the Society of Jesus and the Diocesan Museum, with the advice of the Jesuits Francesc Riera and Xavier Melloni.

(Image: Archbishopric of Barcelona-R.Ripoll)

Jesuitas España