CHURCH OF LA CLERECÍA AND PONTIFICAL UNIVERSITY

The majestic architectural complex that today comprises the Church of La Clerecía and the Pontifical University originated as the Royal College of the Holy Spirit (Real Colegio del Espíritu Santo), founded at the beginning of the 17th century on the initiative of the kings of Spain, Philip III and Margaret of Austria, for the Society of Jesus.

The presence of the Society in Salamanca dates back to the 16th century, when a young Ignatius of Loyola unsuccessfully attempted to study at the University of Salamanca. In the late 16th century, the Jesuits began the construction of a large college in the Peñuelas de San Blas area, where they resided until 1665, the year they moved to the new college on Calle Compañía.

The origin of the college dates back to the early 17th century when, after the monarchs' visit to Salamanca, the queen decided to found a new college for the Society of Jesus, with the purpose of training missionaries for evangelization in America and Europe. Construction lasted for more than one hundred and fifty years. The result was an architectural complex of exceptional magnitude, considered a masterpiece of European Baroque.

The architect chosen for the work was Juan Gómez de Mora, royal architect to Philip III. Gómez de Mora designed the plans between 1616-1618, on which other architects would later introduce modifications, with construction beginning in 1617. The works started with the Church, following the Jesuit typology of a single nave with side chapels and a transept. The final configuration of the building's interior would be completed in the 18th century. It would be the architect Andrés García de Quiñones who would finish the church facade and build the main cloister, the grand staircase, and the General Theology Hall (today the Pontifical University's Paranymph).

After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the building was divided into three parts. The Church and the Sacristy were given to the Royal Clergy of San Marcos (Real Clerecía de San Marcos), giving rise to its current name. The southern wing, organized around the community cloister, was allocated to Irish students, receiving the popular name “La Irlanda”. Currently, this cloister houses the Vargas Zúñiga library, as well as classrooms and offices of the Pontifical University. For its part, the college, structured around the main cloister, became the seat of the Conciliar Seminary.

When the Jesuits were expelled, the facade of the college's main gatehouse still needed to be completed, a task undertaken by Bishop Felipe Beltrán. The work was not finalized until twelve years after the expulsion, as confirmed by the inscription located above Bishop Beltrán's coat of arms (Anno MDCCLXXIX).

During the 19th century, and especially during the Peninsular War (Guerra de la Independencia), the building was used on several occasions as a barracks and hospital by the troops stationed in the city. Subsequently, it resumed its function as a seminary and, since 1940, became the main seat of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

From an artistic point of view, the Church and the College represent the most outstanding elements of this great architectural complex. Both spaces, along with the tour of the church towers (Scala Coeli), are open to the public, offering visitors a unique experience to delve into its history.

THE EXTERIOR OF THE COLLEGE
From its privileged location, in the heart of the historic center and atop the Teso de las Catedrales, the Royal College of the Holy Spirit dominates the entire historic city. It occupies a large city block with facades facing Calle Compañía, which it gives its name to, and those of Serranos and Cervantes. The exterior walls, dotted with hundreds of windows placed in superimposed rows, recall those of the Monastery of El Escorial. When observed from a distance, two long pavilions with galleries located to the north and south of the building stand out.

The college is structured around the large Cloister of Studies, with the church located to the south. On the eastern side, towards Cervantes Street, is the smaller cloister, today occupied by the Vargas Zúñiga library of the Pontifical University.

THE CHURCH FAÇADE
The façade is nestled in Calle Compañía, opposite the Casa de las Conchas. Through its architectural articulation, based on giant order columns and large entablatures, it breaks the monotony of the exterior walls. Its growth in height reflects the evolution of the building from the Mannerist sobriety of the lintelled doors to the great Baroque transformation of the towers and bell-gable. It is structured as if it were a large altarpiece divided into two sections and three bays, individualized by giant order columns. It is topped with the imposing towers that flank the bell-gable with the relief of the Coming of the Holy Spirit.

In the first section of the temple, above the side doors, the coats of arms of Philip III stand out. The central niche, located above the main door, houses the image of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

The incorporation of the towers accentuated the Baroque character of the façade. Designed by García de Quiñones, they feature two superimposed bodies with windows on each of their four sides. The corners are topped with pinnacles and pairs of statues made by Gregorio Carnicero, representing the four Theological and Cardinal Virtues, the Fathers of the Church, and various saints of the Company.

THE DOME
The octagonal dome, over 50 meters high, is one of the most impressive elements of the complex. However, from a technical point of view, it presents certain deficiencies, which is why it has had to be restored on several occasions, especially after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, whose effects caused cracks and collapses.

COLLEGE ENTRANCE
Jerónimo García de Quiñones was in charge of completing the college entrance after the expulsion of the Jesuits, at which point the building became a Conciliar Seminary.

The entrance is elevated above street level and accessed via a double-flight staircase. Its structure follows the altarpiece-façade model, articulated in two bodies separated by a robust entablature. In the lower part, two stylized semi-columns frame the ensemble, while above the door stands out the coat of arms of Bishop Beltrán, accompanied by an inscription indicating its construction date. In the second body, above the central window, is the coat of arms of Charles III.

THE CHURCH
The construction of the church began in 1617 and was consecrated in 1665. It follows the Jesuit typology of a single nave with side chapels, connected to each other by lintelled doors. Above the chapels are the tribunes, open to the church by doors with balconies. It was designed and built up to the springing of the vaults by Juan Gómez de Mora, and it is here that the influence of El Escorial is best appreciated. Above the transept rises the enormous dome, whose pendentives are sculpted with the coats of arms of Philip III.

The interior of the church was decorated with 10 altarpieces, the one in the main chapel standing out above all others. It was made by Juan Fernández between 1673 and 1675 in a pre-Churrigueresque style. It is 22 meters high, and its central body is traversed by enormous Solomonic columns. In the central bay, the high relief of the Coming of the Holy Spirit stands out, flanked by sculptures representing the Fathers of the Latin Church. The attic is presided over by the relief of the Virgin inspiring Saint Ignatius with the Spiritual Exercises. The altarpieces in the transept were consecrated to Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Each of the seven side chapels is decorated with large Baroque altarpieces with different devotions, notably those dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the Visitation of the Virgin to her cousin Saint Elizabeth, and Saint James.

Two Penitential Brotherhoods that participate in the Holy Week of Salamanca have their canonical seat in this church:
• The University Brotherhood of the Most Holy Christ of Light and Our Lady Mother of Wisdom. Founded in 1948.
• The Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus Flagellated and Our Lady of Tears. Founded in 1948. The Flagellated Christ is a magnificent work by Luis Salvador Carmona (1760). It was made for the sacristy altarpiece, which today has an academic use, so it has been placed in the church, on the altar of the Saint Catherine altarpiece.

MAIN FLOOR OF THE CLOISTER
The interior galleries of the main floor of the cloister are covered by barrel vaults with lunettes. Above the corner doors, canvases with portraits of cardinals and bishops of the Society of Jesus stand out.

The gallery walls are decorated with 28 canvases depicting the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. They were made in Rome, in the workshop of Sebastián Conca, in the mid-18th century.

AULA MAGNA
On the main floor of the cloister, next to the main staircase, opens the General Hall of Theology, today the Assembly Hall of the Pontifical University. The General Hall of Theology was completed in 1746 by A. García de Quiñones.

It is a spacious rectangular room, whose vault is richly ornamented with plasterwork and stuccoes, among which allegorical figures and Latin inscriptions are intertwined. At the top of the vault are represented the four Doctors of the Latin Church, interspersed with the coats of arms of Philip III and Margaret of Austria. In the lunette of the head wall, Father Diego Lainez is depicted presenting his defense of the Mystery of the Immaculate Conception before the Council of Trent and, in the lunette of the foot wall, Wisdom and Saint Ignatius sending his sons to evangelize and teach throughout the world.

MAIN STAIRCASE
It is also attributed to Andrés García de Quiñones and is covered by a vault with panels richly adorned with stuccoes featuring polychrome coats of arms of the founders. It is a spectacular cantilevered staircase with nine flights. The precedent for this staircase can be found in the one Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón created for the Dominican convent of San Esteban in the mid-16th century.

CLOISTER OF STUDIES
The College houses a monumental Baroque cloister, a work by Andrés García de Quiñones. Its structure is composed of three sections, the first two featuring giant order columns similar to those of the façade. Only on the lower level do the galleries have arches open to the courtyard. The main floor has balconies with doors crowned by horizontal oculus windows. It is in this section that the decoration is concentrated, with two coats of arms of King Philip V standing out on each side.

Each year, at the end of the academic term, this cloister serves as an incomparable setting for the graduation photograph of the students from the faculties located in this building.

On the main floor of the cloister of the old College of the Society of Jesus in Salamanca (Pontifical University), twenty-eight canvases are exhibited, narrating the most important episodes in the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Vita Ignatii). They were commissioned in the mid-18th century to the Italian painter Sebastián Conca. The pictorial cycle covers the period between 1521, when Saint Ignatius was wounded during the defense of the fortress of Pamplona, and 1556, the year of his death.

Each of the paintings depicts relevant scenes from the life of the founder of the Society. The first shows the fortress of Pamplona in 1521, when Ignatius was wounded in one leg. During his convalescence, as a result of reading books about the lives of saints, a radical change occurred in his life. He left his home, quit the military, and decided to pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Before departing for Jerusalem, he wrote the Spiritual Exercises in Manresa. Upon his return, he decided to study and attended the universities of Alcalá, Salamanca, and Paris. In this last city, in the church of Saint Denis, Ignatius and his companions laid the foundations of what would become the Society of Jesus. He then traveled to Rome, a city represented in the scenes of The Vision of La Storta and the Recognition of the Society by the Pope. Thus, one by one, scenes of miracles and visions unfold. Relevant moments included the Entry of Saint Francis Borgia into the Society or the Sending of Saint Francis Xavier to the Indies. The cycle concludes with the scene of the Death of Saint Ignatius and the elevation of his soul to heaven.