Conversion and Sanctity in Print: The Episode of Ignatius of Loyola and Isaac, the Roman Jew ca. 1600

Abstract Roman engraver Francesco Villamena (ca. 1565–1624) produced a print in 1600 that illustrated the life and miracles of Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), the founder of the Society of Jesus. It featured a conversion of a local Jew named Isaac described as the movement, possibly miraculously, of another’s heart by Ignatius. Villamena’s engraving, however, must be contrasted with lives of Ignatius written by Pedro de Ribadeneyra (1526–1611). A Jesuit of Jewish ancestry, Ribadeneyra’s accounts, like the Roman print, spoke of the conversion of Isaac. Its 1601 iteration, however, explicitly situated the event among the founder’s miracles. This article examines the place of persons of Jewish ancestry in conceptions of Early Modern sanctity. With this case study, I will compare the print cultures of Rome and Madrid as well as visual and written accounts of this conversion to help us better understand the role of religious minorities in the determination of Catholic sainthood.