Spirituality and closeness to god were two of Saint Teresa’s passion from a young age. But life in the monastery didn’t meet her expectations.
Jesus’s Teresa
A world renowned mystic, writer and doctor of the church, Saint Teresa lived from 1515 to 1582 and was named Teresa Sánchez Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada. After the monastery renewal she became known as Jesus’s Teresa, or Teresa of Ávila name after her hometown. The spark to her teachings raised from home. After the death of her mother, she was sent to a monastery at 12 years old. She gave her promise to serve god at a Carmelite convent, Santa Maria de la Encarnación in 1537.
The health of Teresa was weak, she felt strongly that Saint Josef ‘San José’ was her healer and founded a Holy Josef Carmelite convent in her home town of Ávila in 1562.
The institute represented the new Barefoot Carmelites ‘Orden de las Carmelitas Descalzas’. In her work, Teresa was supported by a soul mate and friend, Saint John of the Cross ‘San Juan de la Cruz’. When they met each other, Teresa was 52 and John was 25 years old. Both belong to the forefront of Spanish golden age poets.
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