Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola

The Jesuit church dedicated to the founder of that order, Saint Ignatius Loyola, dominates Charles Square in Prague’s New Town. It was built between 1658 and 1671 by Carlo Lurago and his pupil Giovanni Domenico Orsi de Orsini. The facade is by Pavel Ignác Bayer, and the superb interior sculpture by Matěj Václav Jäckel.

The date of completion is recorded in the chronogram in the pediment which reads: ‘Erected to the greater glory of God and the honour of Saint Ignatius’

‘MaIorI DeI gLorIae et sanCtI IgnazII honorI pIaetas ereXIt’: (M+D+C+L+X+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I+I = 1671)