Movie Review

Not the Real St. Ignatius

Film review of Ignatius of Loyola, directed & written by Paolo Dy, 2016

Sandra Herath, Sri Lanka

The life of St. Ignatius of Loyola is one of the many great examples the Church holds up to her children of militancy in the pursuit of the glory and will of God. The Saint’s conversion, spiritual militancy, supernatural gift to guide souls, and great fervor in his combat of heresy serves as a lesson for us today who continue the same battle in this ever more decadent world.

Writer-director Paolo Dy’s film was shot in Spain and the Philippines under the Filipino Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom Films). Titled simply Ignatius of Loyola or Ignacio de Loyola), his aim was to piously retell the life of our Saint. However, on watching the movie a serious Catholic will soon realize that the director prioritizes extravagant special effects and overdramatic emotions, and thus excludes the asceticism and actions that made St. Ignatius the great Saint celebrated by the Church.

The early life of St. Ignatius

The two-hour movie does correctly portray the worldly days of St. Ignatius, when he was an ambitious young soldier who sought earthly glory in winning battles or the honor of dying therein. We accompany the protagonist through his life as he falls in love with a noble woman, suffers a severe injury during a battle and impatiently mopes through his recovery.

A moody Ignatius prone to depression & inner turmoil...

One night during an overdramatic episode of distress, he opens a Lives of the Saints. It is in reading these lives, that he finds another kind of courage – a supernatural one – and marvels at the sacrifices the Saints made. Then he makes the decision to do the same. Shortly after this he decides to leave the world and become like the hermits of old.

Ignoring the supernatural

One of the most obvious errors of the film is how the supernatural and profound parts of the Saint’s life were either left out or glossed over, while episodes of comparatively lesser significance are over-dramatized and spotlighted.

For example, in the real account of the Saint, when he decided to leave the world and consecrate himself to the Blessed Virgin, it was reported that the house he was in shook, a great noise was heard, and the windows of his chamber cracked. But nothing of the wondrous appears in this movie.

The ‘ascetic’ Ignatius is presented
as a dirty miserablist in rags

In the city of Manresa, in reality St. Ignatius worked in a hospital, practiced rigorous asceticism, and formulated his Spiritual Exercises. But what the audience sees is the supposed interior ongoing battle of conversion that St. Ignatius underwent. Two versions of Ignatius battle against each other. “Good” Ignatius talks about the desire to serve God, while “evil” Ignatius argues that he is unworthy of such a mission. All this takes place in a Mount Doom atmosphere amidst lightning and thunder, and takes up a good part of the second half of the movie.

Here again we see the filmmakers using special effects and emphasis on the wrong events in the Saint’s life while overlooking the key parts, especially his major role in the Counter-Reformation.

In fact, St. Ignatius received so many divine revelations during this time which prepared him for his mission that he once stated that, even without the Sacred Scriptures, he would have died for the Catholic Faith based on all that God showed him then. It was also during this period of his life that he, a man without a higher education, composed the marvelous Spiritual Exercises, which have been a transformational guide and manual for devout souls ever since.

But the movie skips all this and goes straight to the Inquisition.

St. Ignatius before the Inquisition

The next place we find St. Ignatius is before the Spanish Inquisition, where he is accused of teaching without authority, misleading crowds and seducing women.

So now the viewer must go through another dramatic portrayal of Ignatius and a friar assigned to defend him planning their defense before the tribunal. The last part of the movie, which should have been dedicated to the heroic life and deeds of the Saint, is replaced by a lengthy Inquisition scene.

An unconvincing team of inquisitors...

At this point in the movie, the viewer has forgotten that this is the same St. Ignatius who combated the Lutheran heresy and founded the Jesuit Order.

There is not one place in the entirety of the production where St. Ignatius is seen defending the Holy Faith against Protestantism and the heresies of his time. In fact, the last part of the movie sees him in the seat of the accused rather than confuting the real heretics.

As the Inquisition scene progresses, Ignatius defends his Spiritual Exercises and obstinately refuses to wait for decades until the Church approves his writings. This is a revolutionary portrayal of the Saint who would have obeyed the Church in everything.

Ignatius then denies the tribunal access to his personal journal which he later admits “has more than enough in there to condemn” him. Of course, this further confirms the tribunal's suspicion of him being secretive and a heretic. The night before his supposed execution, he receives a letter from the noble lady who he used to love and it gives him strength and courage in yet another sentimental episode that did not happen in real life. This is romantic fiction, not biography.

The next day, the Inquisitors discover the contents of the journal as an account of his scrupulosity and wretchedness , as well as the temptations he had to fight and his many regrets and doubts. It destroys the real image of the iron willed and logical Founder of the Company of Jesus.

Romantic flashbacks & scenes that never occurred

We see a flashback of so many of his past sins and another theatrical scene, using CGI, special effects and loud music, wherein he fights the devil, who tells him he will never be forgiven. But with the help of God, he drives away the demon.

This is much different from the spiritual battle that Ignatius fought and taught so many others to fight. His method and way is known for its logic and lack of sentimentality. What we are given here is an action-packed and fictional account of dramatic personal struggles that seem ongoing.

Eventually, the Inquisitors declare his innocence and order him to not preach except for the basic rudiments of the Faith, and then only to children.

The movie ends with him leaving for France to pursue his higher education and then gives a small glimpse into the last parts of his life, shown in stained glass images. Again, there is no mention made of him battling heresy or founding the Jesuit Order. Nothing of the rest of his life and the grand deeds he accomplished for the glory of God.

Conclusion

The real St Ignatius - logical, direct, without romantic self-pity

Ignacio de Loyola could have been a spectacular Christian production. However, the directors made the error of making the Saint’s life a theatrical display. By emphasizing minute aspects of his life in an emotional and sentimental manner and leaving out the most important parts of our Saint’s life, they committed a grave injustice against the Holy Founder of the Company of Jesus and to all the souls who could have benefited from this production had it duly portrayed him.

St. Ignatius was not a rebellious man whose life was an adventurous thriller; he was a virile man whose supernatural gifts and great zeal against heresy made him one of the Church’s greatest leaders in one of her most difficult times.

Let us turn to credible traditional books if we wish to learn about these great heroes of the Catholic Faith. And may St. Ignatius help us to avoid the heresies and false teachings that abound in our day and age, including erroneous productions like this one.

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Posted January 16, 2026

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