Letter signed by St. Ignatius discovered in Jesuit archives in London

Published: 2004-05-27

LONDON (CNS) -- A rare and valuable letter written and signed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, has been discovered in Jesuit archives in London. The document had been buried in a filing cabinet for more than 100 years until it was accidentally discovered in mid-May. The Jesuits at the British province's mother church in London consider the letter to be "unique" because most surviving signatures of St. Ignatius are in Rome, the city where he spent the last 16 years of his life as the Jesuits' first father general. Father David Smolira, the British Jesuit provincial, said in a May 25 statement that the letter was an "exciting discovery" and a "treasured possession of the British province." He said, "It is quite impossible to put a value on something like this."

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