For more than 450 years people have taken part in the Spiritual
Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola in order to devote time to Christ,
come closer to God, and discern their call in life.
Ignatius' Exercises in their traditional form, allows participants to
let their lives interact with the life of Christ. This process almost
inevitably sees a deepening of Faith and personal commitment and
relationship with God.
The daily routine of the 30-day retreat sees participants typically
spending four or five periods of prayer and sharing these daily with
the retreat guide.
The Ignatian Spirituality Centre in Glasgow links with the Centro de
Espiritualidad in Loyola, Spain, to offer the full Spiritual Exercises
of St Ignatius in a silent, individually guided form in English. All
guides are native English speakers. Our time includes two days
lead-in with visit to the local places of interest and a final day of
lead-out from the retreat and 30 full days of retreat.
There can be no better place to enter into the Spiritual Exercises of
St Ignatius than the birthplace of Ignatius, Loyola itself.
We suggest that before coming on a 30-day Spiritual Exercises retreat participants should have experience of shorter silent retreats and be familiar with Lectio Divina and Ignatian Contemplation. There is an application form to fill out and two references are required.
This retreat is priced in Euro: for 2024 is €2,900* (Which at
August 2023 rate of exchange is approx £2,525 or US$ 3150)
We are able to accept payments in euro € or US dollars - please ask us
for details when making a payment.
* As we have to pay the Retreat costs in euro, if currency rates
fluctuate by +or-5% then the price in Pounds or Dollars would be
adjusted accordingly.
Overseas Payments: We recommend Wise - as it is quicker and cheaper than bank transfers. Click here for details
ISC Cancellation Policy - opens as PDF in new page
We require full payment of all fees 6 weeks before the retreat
Grants: A grant towards this retreat is often available for those who find our full offering difficult to afford. We will send you details when you apply and your application is approved. If you require further information then please email us
The postal address of the Centre is:
Centro de Espiritualidad de Loyola
Loiola Auzoa, 15
20730 Azpeitia (Gipuzkoa)
Spain
Tel: +34 943 025 025
The Spirituality Centre has modern, single bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. See the video Centro de Espiritualidad de Loyola below - Loyola Centre of Spirituality, for an idea of the facilities the Spirituality Centre offers. The food is healthy Spanish cuisine, provided on a full-board basis. There are many chapels and places of prayer available including a beautiful hillside chapel, the famous chapel of Ignatius' conversion and the 14th Century hermitage of Olatz.
There is a private garden behind the Centre in the magnificent setting of the local hills.
The retreat includes preparation days with a visit to the local sites
associated with Saint Ignatius.
During the retreat there are three rest days when we hope to visit
Javier, the home of St Francis Xavier; Aránzazu, where Ignatius first
stayed after his conversion on the way to Montserrat and an optional
day in the beautiful seaside resort of San Sebastian.
The retreat can conclude with an optional pilgrimage to the other
principle towns of Ignatian Spain,
visiting Pamplona, Manresa, Montserrat and Barcelona. (Just one
place available)
The weather in Loyola in June and July may well be cloudy and can rain sometimes. Temperatures range from 16-32°C with 20-26°C being most common. It rarely suffers the hot, dry heat of the rest of Spain.
Based on 2023 we suggest you arrive on the 26th of June. The nearest airport is Bilbao. We hope to pick up from Bilbao airport. Carrier details will follow when we have them.
An alternative airport to Bilbao is Biarritz in France or
Santander in Spain. There may be direct flights available from
London to Biarritz with Ryanair and Easyjet, which has bus
connections to Loyola via San Sebastian.There may also be direct UK
flights to Santander by Ryanair with bus connections to Loyola via
San Sebastian. We will update this information when it becomes
available
If you are going on the pilgrimage, then return flights should be booked from Barcelona El Prat airport on the 3rd of August to depart after 12.30pm.
Application
Form: 2024 
Please
contact us if you would like any further information.
