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Mar 28, 1515
Date and place of Birth
Teresa Sanchez de Cepeda y Ahumada was born in Avila, Spain.
She was born from Don Alfonso Sanchez and his second wife Beatriz.
Her father was a wealthy mearchant. -
Jan 1, 1517
Protestant reformation
Martin Luther started the protestant reformation while Teresa was 2 years of age. -
Jan 1, 1522
Family life- Teresa and her brother escaped so they can die for Christ
Teresa was a religious child and she was said to be charming. Teresa and her brother Rodrigo always studied the lives of saints.
At the age of seven, they escaped from home in order to show their faith toward God and to be beheaded in a place called Moorish territory however their uncle caught them on their way and returned them home. -
Jan 1, 1528
Family life- Teresa's mother died.
Beatriz, Teresa's mother gave birth to ten children however she died in childbirth when Teresa was 13, leaving Teresa upset and worried. She was very close to her Mother, who provided a warm support when it came to the strictness of her father.Teresa’s parents inspired her to engage in a religious life since they were both Catholics. When Teresa was young, she showed signs of a deeply religious nature for example; sometimes she would go into silence for prayer and she enjoyed helping the poor. -
Mar 3, 1531
Study- Her father sent her to a convent school to be educated
At the age of 16, Alonso de Cepeda sent her to the Augustinian Convent of St. Mary of Grace at Avila to be educated. This inspired her to become interested in following a spiritual life and convinced her to determine thoughts about becoming a nun of the Carmelite Order. She was also inspired to write.
While studying at the convent, Teresa regained her past faithfulness and began considering the possibility of becoming a nun. -
Jan 1, 1535
She entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation at Avila
Teresa decided to enter a religious life especially after reading the letters of St. Jerome.
Her father accepted this therefore she finalised her decision and entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation.
In this atmosphere, she struggled to make time for quite relfection even though she still taught people on the virtues and qualities of mental prayer. -
Oct 1, 1535
The atmosphere of the convent when Teresa first entered.
At the time, she promised to follow the perfect course but the Incarnation monastery was not used to that lifestyle. The convent accepted many people into the order therefore the convent became overcrowded, there were too many distractions such as nuns keeping servants, wearing jewelry and perfume and entertaining gentlemen guests from the village. Teresa believed the nuns in the convent were too wealthy, treated others unfairly and lacked spirituality. -
Nov 2, 1535
Family life- Teresa and her brother ran away from home...
At the age of 20, Teresa and her brother Rodrigo ran away from home again to follow a religious occupation. -
Feb 28, 1538
Work achievement- Her graduation
After many years of offering up her life to God she graduated and officially became a Carmelite nun. -
Aug 15, 1539
She fell ill with malarya and fell into a coma.
She fell ill with malaria and fell into a coma and everyone thought she was dead. She revived after four days however she was paralyzed in some way but not completely.
She thought that this incident was an exuse for her to stop praying. -
Jan 1, 1540
She returned to the Covent.
She returned to the convent where she remained ill for three years but then she experienced a vision of the deeply wounded Christ that changed her life forever. -
Jan 1, 1543
Death of her father
Shortly after she recovered, she nursed her father until his death in 1543. -
Jan 1, 1554
Teresa began experiencing visions
A that time, when she was 39, Teresa spent more time helping and meeting with lay people and only a small amount of time in mental prayer. She then began having visions and hearing voices inside her head therefore she realised that she became too dependent on people and that she needed to build up a closer relationship with God. -
Jan 1, 1554
Contreversy - (spiritual experience)
After she began experiencing visions, the spiritual experiences were looked on with disbelief by many people in the Church and some people thought her visions came from the devil but others believed they were a gift from God and encouraged her to be open to them. However, to Teresa, the visions were embarrassing and humiliating because others misunderstood them. Teresa tried to ignore the experiences and tried to keep them secret, but her resistance was in ineffective. -
Mar 7, 1556
Teresa experienced her most famous vision that was written in her book ‘Autobiography’
Teresa experienced pain in the heart. She said an angel appeared on her left side. His face was on fire. “He had in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God." The evidence of that vision was that after her death, her heart was found to bear a scar. -
Jan 1, 1560
Work achievements
St Peter of Alcantara became Teresa's spiritual guide and counselor.
He convinced her to work hard in the reformation of the Catholic Church. She began reforming the Catholic church by bringing as many people to the community and closer to God. For instance, at that time, she worked so many years encouraging Spanish Jewish convert to follow Christianity. -
Jun 7, 1562
Work achievement- She began writing her autobiography
The book was written while she knelt on the floor at a window shelf as shown in the picture. This book described her early life and spiritual experiences. She later added chapters dealing with prayer. -
Jul 10, 1562
Work achievement- she wrote a well-known book 'Way of perfection'.
She wrote 'Way of perfection' which is a book used to guide her nuns in their religious life and to instruct them in prayer. -
Period: Mar 1, 1565 to Dec 7, 1578
Work achievement- Establishing convents
Reform convents were established by Teresa in Pastrana, Salamanca, Alba de Tormes, Medina del Campo, Malagon, Valladolid and Alba de Tormes. -
Jan 1, 1568
Work achievement- approving reforms
Teresa was given permission to set up two houses for men who wished to approve the reforms so she convinced Anthony of Jesus and John of the Cross to help with this. They together established the first convent of Discalced Carmelite Brethren. -
Period: Jan 4, 1570 to Jan 2, 1582
Establishing convents
Despite her declining health, Teresa continued traveling and founding new convents. In total, she founded 17 convents. -
Jan 1, 1571
Work achievement- She established the Discalced Carmelites
St Teresa established the Discalced Carmelites, an order dedicated to silent prayer, poverty and strictness.
With help from St. John of the Cross, she improved the spiritual condition of the community. -
Jan 1, 1574
Work Achievement- she wrote 'The foundations'
Teresa wrote 'The Foundations' which is a book that encourages her nuns and offers and provides prayers and prayer instructions for them.
Click me;This is one of the most important prayer in the book.
It also offers questions at the end of many sections in the book to punctual meditation and prayer over the hardships. -
Jan 1, 1576
Controversies
Many persecutions, harassments and questions began to rise against Teresa, her friends, and her reforms. The leaders of the order of Piacenza forbade all further establishments of convents. -
Jan 1, 1577
Work Achievement- She wrote the 'Interior Castle'
She wrote the 'Interior Castle' which is known as her greatest book. It explains the development of mental prayer and is known as a source of Teresa's most mature spiritual reflection and thought. In other words, this involved describing the various stages of spiritual evolution leading to full prayer. If you have any interest, check this out!! It is the book being read by someone -
Jan 1, 1579
Controversy - solved the problem
Finally, after numerous years of her hard work and after her persuasive letters that were sent to King Philip II of Spain about the disagreements on establishing new convents, the inquisition against her and others were dropped, which allowed the reform to continue. -
Oct 4, 1582
Date of Death
Teresa died at the age of 67 in Alba which is in Spain.
She had a fever that remained throughout her entire life such as fainting and damaged bones. As well as, she had problems with her lungs and kidney however the severe pain became stronger in the last few years of her life therefore the cause of her death was caused by internal bleeding and various diseases spread through her body. -
A video explaining her life and her role in reformation
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Patroness of Spain
The Spanish parliament announced her as the Patroness of Spain -
Canonization
Four decades after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV.
