St. Ignatius on the Battlements of Pamplona
One of the most dramatic episodes in Church history occurred on May 20, 1521 at the Battle of Pamplona, where St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, was wounded by a cannon ball that would alter the trajectory of his life. Today, on the feast of this notable saint, we will learn a bit about the circumstances of this life-changing event and use it as an occasion to contemplate the mysterious workings of God’s providence.
Pamplona was the seat of the ancient Basque Kingdom of Navarre, straddling the Pyrenees between Spain and France. In olden times Navarre had been independent of both kingdoms, though it had enjoyed a long affinity with France, which it had used as a bulwark against the expansionist aims of the kings of Aragon and Castile. But in 1512, King Ferdinand of Aragon dispossessed the last Navarrese king and claimed the territory for Spain. Ferdinand’s subjugation of Navarre was harsh; he demolished most of the smaller Navarrese fortifications and staffed the bigger ones with his own garrisons. The Navarrese towns were forced to accept Spanish institutions—and Spanish taxes. The young Ignatius of Loyola, in the service of his kinsman Don Antonio Manrique, Duke of Najera, was among one of the Spaniards sent north as occupiers to pacify Navarre for the King of Spain.
But when Ferdinand died in 1516, he was succeeded by the young Hapsburg heir Charles. The accession of a new monarch was always a period for jostling and negotiation, and the cities of Navarre attempted to negotiate with the young king for the restoration of some of their ancient liberties. Charles, however, refused, compounding the resentment among the hardy Basques. This frustration would simmer until exploding in 1521 under the following circumstances into which our hero, St. Ignatius, found himself swept up:
When Charles departed Spain for Germany in 1519 to become Holy Roman Emperor, he left Spain under the control of his Viceroy, Cardinal Ximenès. With Charles gone, his rival King Francis I of France launched an invasion of Spain. The Navarrese, fed up with the exactions of the Spaniards, eagerly rose in rebellion, promising to aid France’s war efforts in exchange for the restoration of their ancient privileges. The Franco-Navarrese army swarmed over the countryside in spring of 1521, driving the Spaniards before them, who were unprepared for the sudden violence. Messengers dashed off to Cardinal Ximenès pleading for reinforcements, but it would be some time until any could be mustered.
St. Ignatius was at this time serving in the garrison of Pamplona, the capital of Navarre and its most heavily fortified city. We are not certain how he came to be in Pamplona; some authors say he was stationed there when the war broke out, others came to reinforce the city at the attacks of the French. We do know that in late May of 1521 we see him in the service of the Commandant of the city, working to fortify the place against the inevitable French onslaught. The arrival of the French army caused consternation among the Spaniards, who were outgunned and outnumbered. The Commandant suggested surrendering, but Ignatius insisted that they hold out, believing they could withstand a siege until the arrival of Cardinal Ximenès’s reinforcements.
