Declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest (BCIN), the old school of Sant Ignasi is a large quadrangular building built around a large central cloister with a neoclassical air. It was built by the Jesuits in the mid-18th century on land adjacent to the old hospital of Santa Llúcia, where members of this religious order had settled since the beginning of the 17th century. For many years it functioned as a teaching center.
The authorization of the Bishop of Vic in 1321 allowed the construction of the chapel near the Hospital Inferior, in 1323 it was in the process of construction and was renovated or rebuilt in 1428. Despite the apparent circumstances, the Hospital of Santa Llúcia evolved over time towards the foundation of a college of the Society of Jesus. This development originated after the founder of the order, Ignatius of Loyola, experienced the episode of the abduction in the hospital in 1522. In 1623, the brotherhood of Sant Tomàs and Santa Llúcia moved, and the Jesuits, owners of the buildings since 1602, transformed the chapel into a temple dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. In addition, they erected a new chapel, the Chapel of the Rapture, on the site of the incident. At the same time, the Jesuits carried out renovations to the buildings to convert them into a college and residence.
During the 18th century, the college of Sant Ignasi experienced a period of prosperity that led to the consideration of the construction of a new, large college. The works began in 1737 with the presumed project of the Jesuit master builder of Aragonese origin, José Galván (or Galban), with the support of the master carpenter from Tarragona, Francesc Magrinyà. However, the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 caused the works to stop. The original project was not completed until the mid-19th century. The church was consecrated in 1820, and the east and south wings of the cloister were built between 1865 and 1881, following the approach of the architect Modest Fossas Pi.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the college of Sant Ignasi consisted of two architectural blocks: the old Hospital and the first college with the chapels of Santa Llúcia and El Rapte, and the new college with the church of Sant Ignasi. With the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the local authorities ordered the demolition of all churches in Manresa. During the autumn of that year, brigades of workers destroyed the church of Sant Ignasi and all the buildings of the old Hospital, including the chapel of the Rapte. The “new college” suffered damage during the bombing of 1938 and was later used as a barracks, shelter and prison. Despite this, the wings of the cloister were preserved. The loss of the church of Sant Ignasi permanently modified the original 18th-century design.
After the Civil War, the area where the church of Sant Ignasi and the buildings of the old Hospital of Santa Llúcia had been located was in a state of demolition. The Jesuits, with the intention of reorganizing this space and freeing up the banks of the Sant Ignasi stream, promoted some initiatives, one of which was the reconstruction of the church of Santa Llúcia and the adjacent room of the hospital where the Rapture took place.
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