Birthplace

Dear visitor, welcome to the birthplace of Blessed Domingo Iturrate.

In 1897, Simon Iturrate, the Blessed’s father, built this house to form a home with his fiancée Marta Zubero Zoloeta, after getting married on July 2, 1900. Simon and Marta had eleven children, and Domingo was the firstborn. In 1913 he entered the Trinitarian seminary in Algorta, was ordained a priest on August 9, 1925, and died in Belmonte, Cuenca, on April 7, 1927, with a reputation for sanctity. Pope John Paul II beatified him in Rome on October 30, 1983. One of the brothers, Father Ignacio, was also a Trinitarian religious; two others got married and the rest of the brothers died very young.

The house was called “IKUZTARTE” and the stables were located on the lower floor. It was a large room with spaces for the cows and other animals, along with another area for the various farm implements and tools. Next to the main building was the oven where bread was baked for family consumption.

On the first floor is the house, where the kitchen is. Most of the family life took place there and the Holy Rosary was prayed every day. There is also the dining room with its balcony and four bedrooms. At the back, there was a room for firewood.

On the upper floor is the attic or “ganbara” (in Basque) for storing household products; potatoes, cereals, apples and nuts, and grass to feed the animals during the winter. The imposing oak beams that cover it are noteworthy, all of them from the mountains owned by Simón Iturrate.

In March 2000, the Trinitarians of the House of Redeemer in Algorta acquired the “Ikuztarte” house and its adjacent property from the Blessed Domingo’s nephews-in-law with the idea of turning it into the House-Museum of Blessed Domingo. The restoration work was carried out by the architects Alberto Ustarroz and Manuel Iñiguez, colleagues at the faculty. After verifying the condition of the beams and their optimal conservation, it was decided to respect the structure of the house as much as possible. Only a few modifications were carried out, especially in the lower part where the mangers in the stable were respected. A space was created to accommodate a hundred people; an altar for the Eucharistic celebration and at the back, some shelves to keep different memories of the Blessed. Some of these memories are: the cross that accompanied the Blessed throughout his life, his habit, a spiked belt, the chalice with which he celebrated Mass, a picture with his last photograph in the library in Rome, another image with the ribbon of his priestly ordination, a gift from his aunt Justa, his pocket watch, the last letter written to the parish priest of Dima, the Liber Usualis of songs, etc.

On one side a staircase was opened to ascend to the upper floor where the house was located. A wide corridor leads to the original entrance of the house and to its balcony with the following inscription on the front: “BUILT BY SIMON DE YTURRATE, YEAR 1897”. Entering through the entrance of the house we find the image of the Blessed and his companions in the gardens of San Carlino, the central house of the Trinitarian Order in Rome. On the left side is the kitchen with the utensils used at that time, and the dining room for festivities with family memories and utensils for those days. Next, we can see the photograph of Domingo’s parents and siblings, without his presence or that of his brother Ignacio, in the seminary.

On the right, there are the bedrooms. The first is his grandmother’s. In the second is the bed where Domingo was born, and in the background, we can see his chasuble, sent from Rome, with which Blessed Domingo celebrated Mass. In front of the bed, there are photographs of his parents, Simon and Marta.

In the central hallway there is a display case with memories of Blessed Domingo. Theology books that he studied, letters written to his family, a habit and remains of his clothing taken from his coffin: sandals, belt and other items. Here you can also find the suitcase that he used on his travels and the urn where the remains of the Blessed came from Belmonte. Today these remains rest in the Trinitarian temple of the Most Holy Redeemer in Algorta.

On the opposite side, a photo of Mr. Javier Ibarra with his wife and children with Marta, the mother of Blessed Domingo, his sister María and his niece Rosario, on the stairs of the birthplace. The image was made in homage to him by the neighbours for having made, as president of the Provincial Council, the road to the Biteriño and Arteun neighbourhoods.

Finally, in the upper part of the house, the old attic or “ganbara” (in Basque), there is an open space prepared for young people to meet, with a kitchen, dining room and mats for sleeping.