Although a Jesuit institution with numerous statues scattered across campus, one central figure to the Saint Louis University lacks representation-St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

Things will soon change with The Pilgrim, a statue of Ignatius commissioned in honor of Mary A. Bruemmer.

Donated by Pat Ward, M.D., a former SLU student, the statue will sit outside DuBourg Hall in the grassy area where many students toss frisbees, play soccer, and bathe in the sun.

“As founder of the Jesuits, I felt St. Ignatius should be honored with a statue,” Bruemmer said. “We’ve put it in what used to be the backyard for the Jesuits when they lived in DuBourg.”

Ward dedicated the statue to Bruemmer, as he had worked with her throughout his time on campus when she was Dean of Student Affairs.

“Mary Bruemmer was to me, as she has been to many generations of SLU students, a support, a friend and a mentor,” Ward explained. “I owe her, as well as Saint Louis University, a debt I could never repay, for they together have made me the person I am today.”

Bruemmer has kept in contact with Ward. “His love for the University is the type of appreciation we hope every student will leave with.”

This is not the first statue to honor Bruemmer. The Madonna Della Strada, located behind Fusz, was commissioned in her honor and designed by the same artist, Vicki Reid of St. Charles.

When some questions arose as to the depiction of Ignatius, Reid suggested the pilgrim image. “The Saint has the Holy Spirit at his back taking him in all directions directed by Christ,” she said.

“After (Ignatius) made his spiritual commitment, his life was one of constant pilgrimage,” Reid explained. “Determined and with great purpose, devotion and passion for Jesus, he walked.”

Beginning in the summer of 1998, the process of making the statue has gone through numerous steps. First it was created in clay, and then covered in wax to form a mold. Bronze was then poured into the mold for the finished product.

Bruemmer added, “It’s a real work of art; the artist put her soul into it.”

On a campus where many students express distaste at the cost of numerous statues, Bruemmer replies, “The addition of the artwork to the campus has been one of the most significant changes in the campus since it was just `that little college on Grand and Lindell.’ The statues have given an atmosphere of appreciation of art in various forms.”

Bruemmer has served SLU for many years. After graduating in 1942, she returned in 1956 to be the first director of Marguerite Hall. Over the next four decades, Bruemmer held positions as dean of women, dean of student affairs, assistant to the vice president of development and her current position as a full-time volunteer.

The Pilgrim will be unveiled in a special blessing and dedication on Wednesday, May 17 at 4:30 p.m. in the Quad.