Saint Teresa was born in Avila, Spain of a noble family on March 28, 1515. Her father, Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda, was a successful wool merchant and one of the wealthiest men in Ávila.
The portrait below of Teresa is probably the one that is most true to her appearance. It is a copy of an original painting of her in 1576 at the age of 61.
Previously married to Catalina del Peso y Henao with whom he had three children, in 1509, Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda married Teresa's mother, Beatriz de Ahumada y Cuevas, with whom they had another nine children together, including Teresa.
Teresa's mother was especially keen to raise her daughter as a pious Christian. Teresa was fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints and at the age of 7 with her brother Rodrigo she run away to convert the Moors. They hoped to achieve early martyrdom when the infidels cut off their heads. Their uncle stopped them as he was returning to the town, having spotted the pair outside the town walls.
Teresa was in her twelfth year when her mother died, leaving her grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother.
The portrait below of Teresa is probably the one that is most true to her appearance. It is a copy of an original painting of her in 1576 at the age of 61.
Previously married to Catalina del Peso y Henao with whom he had three children, in 1509, Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda married Teresa's mother, Beatriz de Ahumada y Cuevas, with whom they had another nine children together, including Teresa.
Teresa's mother was especially keen to raise her daughter as a pious Christian. Teresa was fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints and at the age of 7 with her brother Rodrigo she run away to convert the Moors. They hoped to achieve early martyrdom when the infidels cut off their heads. Their uncle stopped them as he was returning to the town, having spotted the pair outside the town walls.
Teresa was in her twelfth year when her mother died, leaving her grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother.
However these holy aspirations were counteracted by what Teresa later referred to as her great sins, that is to say; flirtations, frivolous chatter and reading popular novels, which, at the time was primarily medieval tales of knighthood and works about caring for one's appearance.
At 16 Teresa was sent to board at an Augustine convent in her native town where she remained for 18 months. She then spent a few days at the house of an uncle whose pious conversation caused her to become a nun.
Teresa entered a Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation in Ávila on November 2, 1535. There, the nuns could receive visits in the parlor and even in their cells. For some twenty years Teresa tried to enjoy both of the delights of prayer and the pleasures of secular conversation. However, she found herself increasingly in disharmony with the spiritual malaise prevailing at the monastery.
In 1554 Teresa experienced a religious awakening involving visions of Jesus Christ, angels and demons. From that time her life consisted in prayer, aberrations of Christ, sufferings, and ecstasies.
She described in her autobiography (The Life of Teresa of Jesus), written before 1567, under the direction of her confessor, Fr. Pedro Ibáñez an ecstasy in which a Seraphim drove a golden spear tipped with fire repeatedly into her heart so that it got through to her innermost being. The experience, though greatly painful, left Teresa with such a great love for God that for the rest of her life it helped to sustain her through all the suffering she had to endure.
Troubled by the increasing lack of piety of the Carmelites, Teresa gained papal authorization to open St Joseph's of Avila, the first convent of reformed Carmelite nuns in 1562, where she insisted their main role is to pray for souls in danger and intercede for others. She became known as Teresa of Ávila.
In 1567, Teresa received a patent from the Carmelite general, Rubeo de Ravenna, to establish new houses of her order. Between 1567 and 1571, at a cost of innumerable persecutions and difficulties, she established poor and austere convents at Medina del Campo, Malagón, Valladolid, Toledo, Pastrana, Salamanca, and Alba de Tormes.
As part of her original patent, Teresa was given permission to set up houses for men who wished to adopt the reforms; she convinced the deeply mystical John of the Cross and Father Jerónimo Gracián to help with this. They founded the first convent of Discalced Carmelite Brethren in November 1568 at Duruello and the pair went on to help Teresa extend her reform to all branches of the Carmelite order.
Teresa traveled the length and breadth of Spain inspecting and encouraging monastics and preaching reform. She and St John of the Cross, revitalized a large part of the country's spiritual life through their practical mysticism.
The Carmelites started manufacturing macaroons as a result of Teresa of Ávila's principle that "almonds are good for girls who do not eat meat."
Teresa of Ávila died on October 4, 1582 or October 15, 1582, on the night of Spain's transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. She was on her way back from the opening of the sixteenth Carmelite Reformed convent. Teresa passed away in ecstasy at the Convent of Alba, her head supported by Mother Anne of St Bartholomew, her eyes fixed on a crucifix.
She described in her autobiography (The Life of Teresa of Jesus), written before 1567, under the direction of her confessor, Fr. Pedro Ibáñez an ecstasy in which a Seraphim drove a golden spear tipped with fire repeatedly into her heart so that it got through to her innermost being. The experience, though greatly painful, left Teresa with such a great love for God that for the rest of her life it helped to sustain her through all the suffering she had to endure.
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| The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini, Basilica of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. By Alvesgaspar1 |
Troubled by the increasing lack of piety of the Carmelites, Teresa gained papal authorization to open St Joseph's of Avila, the first convent of reformed Carmelite nuns in 1562, where she insisted their main role is to pray for souls in danger and intercede for others. She became known as Teresa of Ávila.
In 1567, Teresa received a patent from the Carmelite general, Rubeo de Ravenna, to establish new houses of her order. Between 1567 and 1571, at a cost of innumerable persecutions and difficulties, she established poor and austere convents at Medina del Campo, Malagón, Valladolid, Toledo, Pastrana, Salamanca, and Alba de Tormes.
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| Saint Teresa of Ávila by Peter Paul Rubens |
As part of her original patent, Teresa was given permission to set up houses for men who wished to adopt the reforms; she convinced the deeply mystical John of the Cross and Father Jerónimo Gracián to help with this. They founded the first convent of Discalced Carmelite Brethren in November 1568 at Duruello and the pair went on to help Teresa extend her reform to all branches of the Carmelite order.
Teresa traveled the length and breadth of Spain inspecting and encouraging monastics and preaching reform. She and St John of the Cross, revitalized a large part of the country's spiritual life through their practical mysticism.
The Carmelites started manufacturing macaroons as a result of Teresa of Ávila's principle that "almonds are good for girls who do not eat meat."
Teresa of Ávila died on October 4, 1582 or October 15, 1582, on the night of Spain's transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. She was on her way back from the opening of the sixteenth Carmelite Reformed convent. Teresa passed away in ecstasy at the Convent of Alba, her head supported by Mother Anne of St Bartholomew, her eyes fixed on a crucifix.
In 1622, forty years after her death, Teresa of Avila was canonized by Pope Gregory XV. Her feast day is October 15th.
Teresa was familiar with the great religious literature and epics of the Spanish Golden Age. Her books, which include her autobiography and her seminal work El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle) are an integral part of Spanish Renaissance literature as well as Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practices.
Source The Lives of the Saints by Omer Englebert
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