Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas facts for kids
The Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas is a special school in the historic center of Mexico City. It's a non-profit school that started way back in the mid-1700s. The school is inside a beautiful Baroque building that takes up a whole city block!
What's really cool is that this school has been open non-stop since it began. It's the only school from Mexico's colonial times that's still running today. It first helped orphaned girls and widows. Now, it teaches both boys and girls from kindergarten all the way to high school (called "preparatoria").
The building is usually not open for tourists to visit. But, people can rent it for special events like weddings or parties.
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About the School
The Colegio is a private school that doesn't aim to make money. It teaches both boys and girls, and its teachers are not priests or nuns. It offers classes from kindergarten up to high school. The school was founded in the 1700s and is still in the same building in Mexico City.
This school is unique because it has never closed since it started. It still helps students who need it by giving scholarships. A special group called a "patronato" still runs the school, just like the first founders did.
Famous Students and Challenges
Some famous people went to this school. One was Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, who was important in Mexico's fight for independence. Another was Sara García, a famous actress known as the "little grandmother" of Mexican cinema.
Keeping the school running costs a lot of money. They need funds for scholarships and to take care of the old 18th-century building. The area around the school is not very rich, which makes it harder to keep the building in good shape.
They are always working to fix and preserve the building. For example, some old statues of Christ were recently sent to a special school to be restored. The Colegio works with the National Institute of Anthropology and History, which helps protect old buildings.
Renting the Building
Since it's a private school, visitors usually can't go inside. A big way the school earns money, besides donations, is by renting out its beautiful building. People can rent it for weddings, book launches, and graduation ceremonies.
Many famous people have gotten married here. The building has also hosted important visitors, like the king of Spain. In 2009, famous musicians Elton John and James Blunt even held a concert here. The stage was set up in the main courtyard. This courtyard can hold 1,200 people, and the chapel can hold another 350.
The School Building
The school building is huge! It covers an entire city block. Streets like Las Vizcaínas, Manuel Aldaco, and San Ignacio border it. To the south is the Plaza de Vizcaínas.
Long ago, the ground floor along the east, west, and south sides had small rooms. These rooms opened to the street but not to the inside of the school. They were rented out as homes and shops. This helped the school earn money. It also created a barrier between the busy streets and the girls and women inside. This design was important because, at that time, keeping women separate was seen as part of their education. Today, most of these rooms are closed.
Building Challenges and Design
The building has always had problems with sinking. This is because the ground it was built on is soft. Natural events like floods and earthquakes also caused damage. Pumping water from under Mexico City has made the sinking worse. You can see the damage in the wavy stone beams on Aldaco street. There's also graffiti on the walls, which are covered in a red volcanic stone called tezontle. Even with these issues, it's still the best-preserved Baroque building in the city.
The outside of the building looks grand but simple, in the Baroque style. Tall, flat columns called pilasters divide the different parts of the building. These columns have pointed tops called pinnacles. All four sides of the building are covered in red tezontle stone. Grayish-white sandstone is used for decorations. These decorations used to be painted in bright colors, but the paint has worn off over time.
There are three main entrances, one in the middle and two on the sides. One side entrance has an old coat of arms of Mexico and a picture of Rose of Lima, the first saint from the Americas. The other side entrance has the Spanish coat-of-arms and a picture of the Virgin of Aránzazu.
The main entrance was added later, in 1771, by architect Lorenzo Rodriguez. This entrance is more fancy than the rest of the building. It has two unusual pilasters. One of the statues on the second level shows Ignatius of Loyola. The other two statues in the main entrance are of San Luis Gonzaga and Estanislao de Koski. The windows on the upper and lower floors are different. The ground floor windows are rectangular, and the ones above are octagonal. Fancy frames around each window make them look good together. Many windows also have iron railings.
Inside the School
Inside, a grand staircase leads to a chapel within a large courtyard. This courtyard is surrounded by arches. The school has eleven courtyards, and they still have their original tiles. Besides many classrooms and offices, there are other special areas. The Historic Archives keep all the school's records from the very beginning. They also have their own museum.
The most amazing part inside is the chapel. It's built in a very fancy style called Churrigueresque. It has five golden altarpieces (decorated screens behind the altar) and a choir area. The choir has one of the few organs from the 1700s still working in Mexico. The chapel was only for the school, so it was decorated very richly. Even its entrance door is very fancy.
The five altarpieces were made by José Joaquín de Sáyagos in the late 1700s. The ones for Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Saint Joseph are especially beautiful. One altarpiece is surrounded by angels that look like they are flying. Sáyagos also carved the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe for one of the chapel's inner doors.
A beautiful statue called the "Virgen del Coro" (Virgin of the Choir) was once here. It was known for its beauty and its jewels. In 1904, with permission from the president of Mexico, this statue was sold to a jeweler. The money from the sale was used to build a hospital room for the school in 1905.
History of the School
A story says that three Basque men saw some girls playing in a dirty area and using bad words. The men realized it wasn't the girls' fault, but society's, for not giving them an education. So, they decided to start a school for girls. The streets around the school are named after these men: Ambrosio de Meave, Francisco de Echeveste, and José de Aldaco.
Before this school, there was no high school for girls. Girls usually only learned to read, write, and do crafts. They didn't have formal schooling. This school was one of the first steps toward equal education for boys and girls in Mexico.
Founding the School
The school was started by a group of Basques living in Mexico during colonial times. This group was called Nuestra Señora de Aránzazu. Most of them were from important families, merchants, or church leaders from Spanish regions like Vizcaya, Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Navarre. In 1732, this group decided to create a school to help and educate orphaned girls and widows. Three members, Francisco de Echeveste, Manuel de Aldaco, and Ambrosio de Meave, led the project. Many other Basques in Mexico also strongly supported it.
At first, the group asked for land where Avenida Juarez is today, but they were denied. Instead, they were offered an area that used to be a market but had become a garbage dump. This area was considered very poor. Even though it needed a lot of drainage work, they accepted the site.
The building project began on July 31, 1734. This was the feast day of the Basque patron saint, Ignatius de Loyola. The viceroy, Juan Antonio de Vizarrón y Eguiarreta, laid the first stone. A box with gold and silver coins and a silver plaque was buried with the stone, but no one knows where they are now. The building cost 2 million pesos and was finished in the 1750s.
Name and Changes Over Time
The school's current name, Las Vizcainas College, comes from its original purpose. It was meant to help poor widows and girls, especially those of Basque or Spanish background. It was not a convent, and girls didn't have to become nuns. This made it very modern for its time, so its opening was delayed. The Spanish Crown was slow to approve it. Final approval came in 1767, after Pope Clement XIII and King Carlos III agreed.
The school was first called the Real Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola. Even though students were not nuns, their education was based on Catholic teachings. After Mexico became independent, the word "Real" (royal) was changed to "Nacional" (national). Later, during the Reform War, the school's name changed to the Colegio de la Paz Vizcaínas. In 1998, the school went back to using the saint's name and is now formally called the Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas.
From 1767 to 1861, the school worked as it was first planned. From 1861 to 1912, the government supported it more but also took some control, especially over who could be on its board. During the Reform Laws, the school stopped holding Mass in its chapel, which was left empty for a while.
Since 1912, the school has gotten back its independence. From 1878 onwards, the college has focused on preparing students for technical jobs and professions. In the 1990s, parts of the building that had been damaged were restored. This area was then turned into a museum to show the school's collection of religious items and historical records. At the same time, the chapel was also restored.
Throughout its history, Mexico has gone through many big events like the War of Independence, the Mexican–American War, the Reform War, the French Intervention, and the Mexican Revolution. The school has stayed open through all of them.
See also
In Spanish: Colegio de las Vizcaínas para niños
