Saint Teresa of Avila Reformer of the Carmelite Order

Saint Teresa of Avila

Teresa came from a well-to-do and distinguished family and was destined for life in the world with the prospect of a substantial worldly fortune. But, when she was 21 years old, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation in Avila. It was from here that she set out to implement the reform within the Catholic Church for which she was largely responsible, together with St. John of the Cross.

She began with the reform of Carmel. On 24 August 1562 in Avila, she opened the first reformed Carmel in which the ancient observance was restored. It consisted of absolute poverty, prayer, hidden-ness and silence. The cloister became the shade that was to envelop the nuns to enable them to speak to God better and to contemplate him in anticipation from this earth.

She traveled all over Spain by any means chance afforded her, more often on foot than on wobbly carts. She brought her efforts to a successful conclusion by founding 16 new monasteries and gathering a multitude of disciples and followers who shared in her ideals of austerity and poverty.

A revolutionary for God, friendly and firm in governance, not only did St Teresa found monasteries and direct them with her head and her heart, but she also regularly corresponded with them. Chroniclers mention about 15,000 letters, of which 459 have come down to us, more than enough to describe both her spiritual and physical features.

Her mystic life and her immense love for Christ were transfused in her writings, as Pope Paul VI perceptively observed in his Apostolic Letter "Multiformis Sapientia Dei," with which he proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church.

Among her many works, which have earned her the title of "Teacher" of the Christian people, in addition to "The Interior Castle," her most important and best-known work, we can recall: the "Libro de la Vida" [her autobiography], the "Way of Perfection," the "Book of the Foundations," the "Relations," and the "Letters" that are a gold mine of historical information and contemplative spirituality.

The great saints of her day, such as John of the Cross, Peter of Alcântara, John of Ribera and others, considered her an expert in contemplation, enlightened by God to guide an interminable host of souls.

The theological and mystic magisterium of this saint is so vast and luminous that not only do the Sisters of Carmel and the Carmelite Order draw from it by the handful, but also the entire Church. Theologians declare that her doctrine comes from heaven.

It comes from heaven and it leads to heaven!

This tract contains portions of an article written by Cosmo Francesco Ruppi Archbishop of Lecce, Italy; published by L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English, 12 October 2005

The following are photos that I took while touring Avila, Spain with a Church group. They will give you some small feeling and idea of what Avila looks and feels like.