Ignatius arrived in Alcalà in March 1526, followed by Calixto de Sa, Juan de Arteaga, and Lope de Cáceres. Alcalà was at that time the focus of the humanist movement in Spain.27 The university of Alcalà had been founded in 1510 by Cardinal Francisco Ximenez de Cisneros (1436–1517), the friar archbishop of Toledo. It was thanks to Cisneros that the celebrated polyglot bible—in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldaic—was produced with the aid of Jewish scholars and published in 1522, four years after Cisneros’s death.
On reaching Alcalà, Ignatius took up residence in the hospice of Antezana. He registered his name on the roster of poor students. In addition to pursuing his studies, Ignatius soon began holding spiritual meetings in the hospice and in the homes of those who invited him to a meal. He was also busy giving spiritual direction to those who sought his help and teaching Christian doctrine to those who gathered around him. He wore a type of clerical garb, with a plain grey hood for protection against the sun and rain. All the while he kept up his mendicant way of life, begging on behalf of himself and others. At that time, Ignatius and his three companions dressed themselves in the same type of poor cloth. The material they wore led people to call them ensayalados, meaning “those dressed in sackcloth.”
A year before Ignatius’s arrival in Alcalà, the Spanish Inquisition had moved with force against a group called the alumbrados, which was attracting followers at the time.28 They had meeting houses where they would read and comment on passages of the Bible and where prayer gatherings were conducted. They preferred mental prayer to vocal prayer. They distanced themselves, at least psychologically, from ordinary Christians. They claimed to be moved by intense mystical communication on the part of the Holy Spirit. They repudiated the mediation of the Church, especially the hierarchy and the sacraments, while seeking direct communication with God.
During their time in Alcalà, Ignatius and his companions were sometimes known as Iniguistas, after Ignatius’s birth name, and in the mind of some people they became associated with the alumbrados. Then, rumours and false reports began to circulate about Ignatius and his meetings with certain ladies. The Archbishop of Toledo’s representative, Juan Rodríguez de Figueroa, heard reports of strange swoonings and convulsions that were taking place among the women associates of Ignatius. He was summoned before the Inquisition to explain his teaching, but nothing reprehensible was found in either his conduct or his teaching.29 He insisted that he did not preach but merely talked in a familiar way about the things of God. Since Ignatius’s followers were not members of a religious order, Figueroa cautioned them not to dress in a way that suggested that they were. He also forbade Ignatius to go around with bare feet. Being fully compliant with any such orders given by a legitimate Church authority, Ignatius immediately put on shoes.
For four months, Ignatius was left undisturbed. However, on 16 March 1527, a new investigation was opened. This time it was more rigorous. It concerned the lessons that Ignatius was giving; he called them “spiritual exercises.” While awaiting examination by the Inquisition, he was put in prison. The sentence given on 1 June 1527 obliged Ignatius and his friend Calixto to get rid of their eccentric habits and wear instead the dress of ordinary students. It seems that Figueroa had been impressed by Ignatius’s respectful conduct under examination, however, since he bought him all he needed, including his clothes, cap, and academic gear.
Only one line in Ignatius’s autobiography refers to his studies in Alcalà: “There he studied the Logic of Soto, the Physics of Albert and Peter Lombard.”30 He had, in fact, made very little progress in his studies in Alcalà. His days were mainly spent explaining Christian doctrine, holding conversations on spiritual matters, and gathering food for himself and the poor.
Among the people whom Ignatius befriended while in Alcalà was Martín de Olave, a Basque student. He gave Ignatius alms on his arrival and would later join the Society of Jesus. He subsequently obtained a doctorate in theology at the University of Paris and became a brilliant professor at the Roman College. Another acquaintance of Ignatius in Alcalà was Manuel Miona, a Portuguese priest who was then Ignatius’s confessor. It was Miona who introduced Ignatius to the Enchiridion of Desiderius Erasmus. Miona would also become a Jesuit. Interestingly, the printer of the first Spanish translation of the Enchiridion, a priest called Diego de Eguia, joined the Society at a later date. We are told by Luís Gonçalves da Câmara that Ignatius, in later life, declined to read the Enchiridion because he felt that Erasmus was dampening his spiritual fervour.31 Da Câmara adds that Ignatius steered clear of Erasmus because preachers and men of authority criticised him and because he, Ignatius, preferred reading books “upon which there was no shadow of doubt,” such as The Imitation of Christ, which he had first read in Manresa.32
In late June, Ignatius and his companions left Alcalà. Ignatius sought out the Archbishop of Toledo, Alonzo de Fonseca, primate of Spain, who was in Valladolid in attendance at the royal court.33 Surprisingly, Ignatius had no difficulty in getting an audience, and the archbishop was clearly impressed with him. He told Ignatius that he had friends in Salamanca, where he had founded a college for poor students, and that Ignatius should go and study there. So Ignatius set out, walking as ever, on the 120-kilometre journey to Salamanca.
In the fourteenth century, the university of Salamanca had been among the leading four or five universities in Europe, with an enrolment of about 14,000 students. Following the establishment of the University of Alcalà, however, its numbers had declined.
Shortly after his arrival in Salamanca, around 20 June 1527, Ignatius and his companion Calixto were invited to dine with the Dominicans.34 Asked by his hosts what matters he was preaching, Ignatius said that he only spoke about the things of God. The Dominican sub-prior, Nicolás de Santo Tomás, was suspicious, however, and Ignatius and Calixto were held for three days in the priory. After this, a notary of the Inquisition marched them off to prison.
Martín Frías, Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Salamanca, took Ignatius’s precious notes of the Spiritual Exercises away to be examined. This is the first time that Ignatius alludes to the Spiritual Exercises specifically in The Autobiography.35 Ignatius was summoned before four judges; three were doctors of law, and the fourth was Frías himself. All four judges had read the Spiritual Exercises. After three weeks and a day in prison, Ignatius and Calixto were released and told that they and their companions could go on teaching, provided they did not attempt to define what constituted grave sin until they had completed another four years of study. Less than twenty days after his release, Ignatius set out on the road to Barcelona on the first stage of his journey to Paris. Given all of the interference from the Inquisition in Salamanca, he had resolved to continue his studies at the University of Paris. He left behind his companions, who were to join him later when he had raised enough money for their support. As it turned out, none of them followed him to Paris.
In Barcelona, Ignatius stayed in the Pascual house for three months. In December he set out for Paris—on foot, as usual—a journey of more than 1,000 kilometres.