The college of San Ignacio in Caceres was the last of the colleges created by the Society of Jesus in Extremadura. It was founded too late, so this training institution of the Jesuits did not last so long. It was established in Caceres thanks to the donation and the initiative of Francisco de Vargas de Figueroa y Aponte. According to his testament, this was his last will. He died on the 3rd of October 1698. When he died, Figueroa's entailed state disappeared because he was the last family member and decided to give his fortune to the Society of Jesus for the creation of a church and convent. There is a grave located under San Francisco Javier's church, a temple attached to the college, next to the main altar. It has an inscription that says: "Here lies the most illustrious and reverend Lord Francisco Vargas y Figueroa, the founder of this College of the Society of Jesus, who died on the 3rd of October 1698". His will was not applied immediately. At the beginning of the 18th century, the procedures to carry it out began but the Society and the Monarchy shared a tense relationship. This situation made even more difficult to found these last institutions. In 1713, a royal document was presented to the local government of Caceres to found the college. However, as it had happened in other cities, some institutions opposed to this creation. In this case, they were the Prior Fathers of the convents of Santo Domingo and San Francisco and the Lord Dean and Canonry of the Church of Coria. However, it had the city's support. On the 2nd of September 1716, a royal charter permitted the construction of the establishment. In 1718, they requested some plots that were inside the city next to the house of Juan Durán de la Rocha to the local government. They wanted to rebuild the college. The works were run by the master mason Pedro Sánchez Lobato, who was born in Vª de Garrovillas. Its Baroque structure and the solemn space of its entries and interior rooms show that Manuel de Lara Churriguera influenced on the building's drawing and sketch. The works ended in 1753 but the Jesuits stayed there for a short period of time due to Charles III's Pragmatic Sanction in 1767. When the Jesuits abandoned the College-convent, it counted on one Grammar teacher. There are no more data about the academic and cultural activity of this college.

When the Jesuits were expelled, it worked as a hospital, quarter, university of secondary education, Humanities College, high school and "universidad libre" in El Brocense. This building was restored and transformed into a students' residence for women in the 1970s. It got the name of the poetess from Extremadura Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza. At present, the part that corresponds to the college-convent belongs to the Extremadura's government (Junta de Extremadura), where we can find San Jorge Exhibition Hall (Palacio de Exposiciones San Jorge) and the territorial delegation of the Regional Ministry for Culture and Heritage of Extremadura's autonomous regional government (Consejería de Cultura y Patrimonio de la Junta de Extremadura). Part of the church belongs to the Diocese’s Bishopric and the Interpretation Centre for the Holy Week in Caceres (Centro de Interpretación de la Semana Santa de Cáceres) and a big cistern that belongs to Extremadura’s local government stay in its basements.