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St Teresa of Avila was born in Avila, Old Castile, Spain on the 28th of March, 1515. She was born before the Protestant Reformation. Her family was descended from Jewish merchants who converted to Christianity during the 1500's.
FEAST DAY: October 15th
PATRON SAINT OF: Headaches -
At the age of seven, St Teresa was inspired by the stories of saints and martyrs, and so set out with her younger brother Rodrigo to a Muslim country to die as martyrs for the Church. They did not travel far before they ran into a relative and were sent back home to their mother.
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St Teresa's father, a strict, pious, but honest Toledo merchant named Don Alonso Sanchez de Capeda married twice. Dona Beatriz Davilay Ahumeda, who was his second wife and St Teresa's mother, passed away when she was only 14. St Teresa was 1 out of 10 children in her family. The death of St Teresa's mother left her grieving, which caused her to find a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother.
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St Teresa was sent to be cared for by the Augustinian Nuns (Santa Maria de Gracia) a year after he mother passed away. Her father believed she needed a change of environment and so he sent her to be educated by the nuns.
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After reading the letters of St Jerome, St Teresa ran away against her father's will to a Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation at Avila (Encarnacion de Avila). After two years of education with the Augustinian nuns, St Teresa became ill, but was determined to join the Carmelite Convent. She believed it would be the route to salvation by sacrificing marriage, property and worldly possessions.
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After St Teresa returns to her father's home, she becomes seriously ill and falls into a coma as a result of Malaria. People begin to believe she has died and her tomb is prepared, all the while her father stayed at her sided praying for her to wake up. After four days, St Teresa began to regain consciousness and asked why she was called back to life. She had a vision where she saw the help she provided for others and the souls that she would save.
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After asking St Joseph to intercede for her healing, St Teresa slowly regains use of her limbs, but still feels excruciating pain with every movement. After three years, she has recovered.
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From 1542 to 1554, St Teresa used the recovery of her illness as an excuse for drifting away from God and discontinuing mental prayer. She continued for 15 years mislead by worldly distractions and ignoring her spiritual connections.
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St Teresa experienced a spiritual visitation before a statue of Christ suffering. This religious awakening enabled St Teresa to renew her connection with God and return to her life of prayer.
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St Teresa receives the grace of spiritual betrothal in order to strengthen her spiritual connections with God.
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St Teresa experiences the First Rapture of the Saint, as well as a vision of hell, where she saw the punishment of sins and experienced the fires of hell.
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From 1560 onwards, St Teresa aimed to gather supporters to establish a new reformed convent, the Carmelite Order.
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St Teresa receives the grace of transverberation, the spiritual piercing of the heart. St Teresa also begins to write about her life in an autobiography, including her visions and experiences.
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Pope Pius IV granted St Teresa the approval to establish a new, reformed convent called the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Primitive Rule of Saint Joseph (San Jose de Avila) with the help of her niece and three other nuns. The convent was dedicated on the 24th of August, 1562.
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St Teresa writes the constitutions for San Jose de Avila and begins to write a book called 'The Way of Perfection'. She continued to write her Meditations on the Song of Songs.
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After receiving approval from a Carmelite General from Rome and her close friend, St John of the Cross, St Teresa founded another convent in Medina del Campo on the 15th of August, 1567.
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St Teresa founded two convents in 1568, the first in Malagon in April and the second in Valladolid on the 15th of August. St John also founded the reformed monastery for friars in Duruelo on the 28th of November.
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St Teresa continued to found convents in Spain, including a convent in Toledo on the 14th of May, Pastrana on the 28th of June and a reformed convent in Pastrana on the 13th of July.
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St Teresa founded a convent in Salamanca on the 1st of November, 1570.
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St Teresa became denounced to the Inquisition by the Princess of Eboli. Teresa continued to teach Carmelite traditions in the convent and although it was dangerous for her to admit her vision and spiritual visitations during the time of the Protestant Reformation, she did anyway and managed to hide when she became threatened.
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Persecution of St Teresa's Reform Movement for 4 years between 1576 and1579. During this time, Teresa also wrote 'The Interior castle' and continued writing 'Foundations'.
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On Christmas day, St Teresa permanently injured her hand and from that day onwards could not care for herself. She continued to experience regular paralysis in her limbs which would last for several hours at times. The one thing that was said could cure her was the Holy Communion.
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On the 3rd of October, St Teresa received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction and Last Confession. St Teresa died of natural causes in the arms of Ana de San Bartholome, a close companion.
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St Teresa was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on the 12th of March, 1622.
