Saint Ignatius of Loyola Parish
Evangelizing the Community
Just like the past 122 years, rooted in our long-lasting catholic identity and rich cultural heritage, the month of July of 2022 was filled with joy throughout the Town of Ignacio as we celebrated “La Fiesta Patronal de San Ignacio” on the last full weekend of July.
The Patronal Feast Day of St. Ignatius is a Solemn Celebration of the Parish and a festival of food and entertainment for the whole Town to enjoy. This celebration is for all residents of Ignacio and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Offering a glimpse of Heaven in the middle of the hot and dry summer of Southern Colorado, our patronal celebration brings with it a visitation of paternal love as the statue of our beloved saint processes in the Parade through the Town’s Main Street retelling people of God’s love and blessings. Hundreds of people from all over the Four Corners attend this event to thank the saint for any miracles obtain trough his intercession and participate in the religious celebrations. The procession of the saint is a very colorful happening, which is combined with the religious enthusiasm and happiness common to Hispanics and Native Americans.
This year our parish organized for this celebration a solemn triduum of prayer where we learn about the importance of prayer and discernment in our lives. The apex of our patronal celebration was the Solemn Liturgy and blessing with the relic of the saint, which is a sliver of his bones, that came from the Jesuit Curia in Rome. Kissing or touching this relic offers the faithful a sense of closeness to their protector and intercessor. I dare to say that divine assistance was not far away.
As the days of the celebration progressed, on the last evening during “La Vigilia de Oración” and the Sunday Liturgy we got larger groups of people coming to worship our Lord Jesus present in the Most Blessed Sacrament and venerate “Nuestro Padre San Ignacio”. As it is customary in Catholic solemn celebrations, the conclusion of our celebration was filled with incense, candles, bells, singing and lots of food.
