Creating 14 Limestone Carvings Depicting Ignatius Loyola

The team at Petrillo Stone recently used Indiana limestone to create these 14 carvings depicting the life of Ignatius Loyola. We did this using the original molds from the 1950s. Ralph Petrillo is pictured next to one of the carvings.

Ignatius Loyola was a Spanish priest who co-founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He was born in 1491 to a family of minor nobility. He was one of 13 children.

When he was 30 years old, he was injured during a battle with the French. While recuperating from his injury, Ignatius began reading about Jesus and the Saints which inspired him to do great things. He took this as a sign from God about the path he should take in life.

Throughout the rest of his life, Ignatius was renowned as an expert in spiritual direction. This led to him founding the Jesuits, a group who he viewed as “contemplatives in action.”

These carvings are housed at a monastery in Shrub Oak, NY.