St. Ignatius College, Santiago, Chile, (Colegio San Ignacio Alonso Ovalle) is run by the Jesuit St. Ignatius Foundation as a part of the Ignatian Educational Network of Chile and the Latin American Federation of Jesuit Colleges, FLACSI. It has offered elementary and secondary education since 1856, and is the second oldest private school in the Chilean capital after the French Padres Franceses de Santiago.
In 1854 San Ignacio was founded by Jesuits from Buenos Aires at the behest of Rafael Valentín Valdivieso, Archbishop of Santiago, presumably to preserve the Catholic culture of the creole elite amidst the challenges of the mid-nineteenth century. The school opened in 1854 in an up-scale neighborhood of Santiago and within a year had 150 students. To the classroom building and Jesuit residence the Church of St. Ignatius was added in 1859, and later declared a national monument
From the 1920s the landed aristocracy who characterized the college were joined by the rising middle class. Among their teachers was an alumnus of the school who later became prominent as an advocate of social justice, Alberto Hurtado, canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in 2005.
In 1936 a stadium for the school was built in the El Bosque area of Santiago, which lead to the founding of another St. Ignatius school there in 1956. After 1980, to form leaders with Ignatian inspiration in the post-Vatican II church, the school became more involved in social works: the Mapuche missions, vacation projects, the lay missions, the factory work.
In 2006 the Superior General of the Jesuits Peter Hans Kolvenbach visited the school during celebrations of its 150th anniversary. In 2013 the school welcomed its first layperson as rector.
The school educated many of the Chilean Catholic ruling class during the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. It remained a boarding school until 1954, accommodating the children from farms and estates distant from the capital. While many students have distinguished themselves by their contributions to the social, political, and cultural life of the country, St. Albert Hurtado, founder of the Hogar de Cristo and the magazine Message, has been the most famous.
Carlos Walker Martínez (1842-1905): deputy and senator of the Conservative Party.Clemente Diaz Rodriguez (1848-1905): priest, pastor of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception of Maipo (1886-1905).Federico Errazuriz Echaurren (1850-1901): President of Chile (1896-1901).Javier Angel Figueroa (1862-1945): President of the Liberal Party (1905, 1921, 1926) and of the Supreme Court (1925-1927; 1931-1932).Emiliano Figueroa Larraín (1866-1931): President of Chile (1925-1927).Rafael Luis Gumucio Vergara (1877-1947): Deputy and Senator of the Conservative Party; contributed to the formation of the Falange.Joaquin Diaz Garces (1877-1921): journalist and writer.Agustín Edwards Mac-Clure (1878-1941): founder of the newspaper El Mercurio and National Party deputy several times.Juan Esteban Montero (1879-1948): President of Chile (1931-1932).Rafael Lira Infante (1879-1958): Bishop of Rancagua and Valparaíso., (1890-1989): Archbishop of La Serena.Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948): poet, founder of creationism.Manuel Larraín Errázuriz (1900-1966): Bishop of Talca.Saint Alberto Hurtado (1901-1952): second Chilean saint.Francisco Valdes Subercaseaux (1908-1982): in the process of beatification since 1992, was bishop of the Diocese of Osorno.Bernardo Leighton (1909-1995): founder of the Falange. Christian Democratic deputy and minister on several occasions.Carlos Cifuentes Perez (1913-1983): Regional Representative and Chairman of the committee of the Chilean Mormon Temple (1979-1983).Tomas Reyes Vicuña (1914-1986): was one of the founders of the Falange, ending with the Christian Democrats.Gabriel Valdes (1919-2011): one of the founders of the Falange; president of the Senate and minister.Sergio Livingstone (1920-2012): national football team; sportscaster.Carlos González Cruchaga (1921-2008): bishop of Talca (1967-1996), president of the Episcopal Conference.Vicente Sota (1924): member of the Falange, the DC, the MAPU, and PPD with which he became president of the lower house.Julio Silva Solar (1926): Chilean politician, former president of the Chamber of Deputies.Jorge Lavandero (1930): senator.Claudio Bravo (1936-2011): Chilean painter, attached to hyper-reealism.Borja Huidobro (1936): Chilean architect based in France.Héctor Noguera (1937): Chilean actor.Alberto (Tito) Fouilloux (1940): soccer player for the Catholic University.Mariano Fernandez (1945): Chilean politician belonging to the Christian Democrats; minister in the first government of Michelle Bachelet.Jaime Ravinet (1946): businessman, minister, and three-term mayor of Santiago, DC.Jaime Estevez (1946): member of MAPU; formed the PPD and the PS militates today; chairman of the House with the last game.Renan Fuentealba Vildósola (1947): Christian Democratic deputy.Pablo Lorenzini (1949) Christian Democratic deputy in office.Victor Jeame Barrueto (1953): president of the Chamber of Deputies, a leader of MAPU; after the return to democracy became active in the PPD.Fernando Paulsen (1956): Chilean journalist.Patricio Almazabar (1958): civil engineer at the University of Chile, founder of Constructora Alba; among his works: pool golf, elevation gain access Manquehue and Alto Las Condes.Pablo Longueira (1958): former deputy and senator of UDI, former Economic Minister.Gonzalo Uriarte (1964): deputy then senator of UDI.Carlos Soto (1964): player for Catholic University; president of Sifup.Bruno Giolito (1964): director of the Joint Giolito y su Combo; son of prominent musician Arturo Giolito.Alberto Undurraga Vicuna (1968): former mayor of Maipú and militant DC.Rafael Araneda (1969): driver and TV host.Raimundo Tupper (1969-1995): soccer player for the Catholic University and the Chilean national team.Rodrigo Salinas (1975): artist and comedian.Cristián Zegers Ariztía: editor of the newspaper El MercurioMarcial Tagle (1973): actor, participated in Casado con hijos.Jose Miguel Viñuela (1974): TV presenter, fostered the youth program Mekano.Felipe Seymour (1987): Chilean footballer; played for University of Chile and then in Italian football; on the national team.
