In 1609 Pope Paul V beatified Ignatius of Loyola. To celebrate and to promote devotion to Ignatius, the Jesuits produced a small-format volume of 81 copperplate engravings depicting his life. The engraver was the distinguished Jean-Baptiste Barbe, a Fleming residing in Rome, who enlisted his fellow countryman, the young Peter Paul Rubens, to contribute drawings for the project.

In 2009, 400th anniversary of the publication of the Vita beati patris Ignatii Loiolae, Saint Joseph's University Press produced Constructing a Saint Through Images, which includes a facsimile edition, with English translation of the captions written by James P. M. Walsh, S.J., and an introduction by John W. O'Malley, S.J. Six of the approximately 55 images are available here for download.