St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Ávila, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada in 1515 in Gotarrendura, Spain, was a towering figure in the Catholic Reformation. She grew up in a devout family, but her early years were marked by a fascination with chivalric romances and a somewhat rebellious spirit. At the age of 20, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation in Ávila, Spain, drawn by a desire for a deeper spiritual life. However, the convent"s relaxed discipline and worldly distractions left her dissatisfied. After nearly two decades of struggle with illness and spiritual dryness, she experienced a profound conversion in her late 30s, marked by visions and mystical encounters with Christ. In 1562, Teresa founded the Discalced Carmelites, a reformed branch of the Carmelite order dedicated to a life of poverty, prayer, and strict observance. Over the next two decades, she established 17 monasteries for women and 15 for men, often facing opposition from ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Her close collaboration with St. John of the Cross, another mystic and reformer, was instrumental in spreading the Discalced Carmelite movement. Teresa died in 1582 in Alba de Tormes, Spain, during one of her many journeys to establish new convents.