St.
Teresa of Avila was a Spanish mystic born in 1515 in Avila, Spain. She
was an influential author and the founder of the religious order to
the Discalced (barefoot) Carmelites. She is also known as Teresa of
Jesus.
St.
Teresa joined the Carmelite order in 1535. She spent a number of years
in the convent, punctuated by a severe illness that left her legs
paralyzed for three years. She then experienced a vision of "the
sorely wounded Christ" that changed her life forever.
Since
that vision, St. Teresa moved into a period of increasingly ecstatic
experiences in which she came to focus more and more sharply on
Christ's passion. With these visions as her impetus, she set herself
to the reformation of her order, beginning with her attempt to master
herself and her adherence to the rule. Gathering a group of
supporters, Teresa endeavored to create a more primitive type of
Carmelite.
From
1560 until her death, Teresa struggled to establish and broaden the
movement of Discalced or barefoot Carmelites. In 1567,
she met St. John of the Cross, who she enlisted to extend her reform
into the male side of the Carmelite Order. St. Teresa died in 1582.
St.
Teresa's writings, all published posthumously, are valued as unique
contributions to mystical and devotional literature and as
masterpieces of Spanish prose.
Teresa
was canonized in 1622. In 1970, she was proclaimed a Doctor of Church,
the first woman to be named so. Her feast day is October 15. She is
the patron saint of headache sufferers.
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