St Ignatius Church or the Jesuit Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church building A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship services and Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. ''Church'' is also ...

served by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

next to

Coláiste Iognáid Coláiste Iognáid SJ (), a bilingual secondary school, is located on Sea Road in Galway, Ireland. It was founded in 1645 and has had numerous locations over the years before its current home. The college is a co-educational, non-fee-paying sec ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. It was founded in 1863 and is a protected structure in the city.

History

Origins

The

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

came to Galway in 1620. In 1645 they built their first school in the area. Throughout the 17th century they were banished and invited back into Galway on numerous occasions. In 1652, they had to leave because of the arrival of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's army was in the area. They then returned with the restoration of Charles II in 1660, but were banished again in 1691 by the army of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

, returning finally in 1728.Our History
from Coláiste Iognáid, Galway retrieved 23 June 2013

Foundation

In 1859, the

Bishop of Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

John McEvilly John McEvilly (1818–1902) was an Irish Roman Catholic Church clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Tuam from 1881 to 1902. He was born on 15 April 1818 in Louisburgh, a small town near Westport, County Mayo, Ireland., ''The Episcopal Su ...

invited the Jesuits to create a college and a church in the area. In 1863, both the church and the college,

, were built.October 2003
from ''LayJay Bulletin'' retrieved 23 June 2013 St Ignatius' church was originally a 'service church' or

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

that would serve the local

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, St Joseph's. In 1971, Bishop Michael Browne asked that the church become a parish church. However, in October 2003, it reverted to being a chapel of ease.

Work

Spirituality

Close to the church is the Jesuit Centre for Spirituality and Culture. It was founded in 2006 and is a non-residential centre that, as well as offering courses, talks and workshops in

Ignatian spirituality Ignatian spirituality, similar in most aspects to, but distinct from Jesuit spirituality, is a Catholic Church, Catholic spirituality founded on the experiences of the 16th-century Spanish Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. The ...

also hosts conferences and events on Irish and Christian heritage.

Church

The church holds a Vigil Mass on Saturday evening 6:00 pm and one

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

on Sundays at 11:00 am. On weekdays from Monday to Saturday Mass is held in the morning at 9:00 am.

School

The church has a close relationship with the school next door,

. The church building is used frequently by the school and a Jesuit from the church always sits on the school's board of management.Board of Management
from Coláiste Iognáid, Galway retrieved 23 June 2013

References

External links

Parish of St Joseph, Galway

Jesuit Centre for Spirituality and Culture in Galway
{{Jesuits in Ireland

Ignatius Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Religious * Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop * Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, Ignati ...

Galway, Ignatius

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1863 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland Galway, Ignatius 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland