Saint Teresa of Avila

October 15 Saint of the Day Profile

October 15 Saint of the Day Profile Saint Teresa of Avila

Profile:

Born to the Spanish nobility, the daughter of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatriz. She grew up reading the lives of the saints, and playing at "hermit" in the garden. Crippled by disease in her youth, which led to her being well educated at home, she was cured after prayer to Saint Joseph. Her mother died when Teresa was 12, and she prayed to Our Lady to be her replacement. Her father opposed her entry to religious life, so she left home without telling anyone, and entered a Carmelite house at 17. Seeing her conviction to her call, her father and family consented.

Soon after taking her vows, Teresa became gravely ill, and her condition was aggravated by the inadequate medical help she received; she never fully recovered her health. She began receiving visions, and was examined by Dominicans and Jesuits, including Saint Francis Borgia, who pronounced the visions to be holy and true.

She considered her original house too lax in its rule, so she founded a reformed convent of Saint John of Avila. Teresa founded several houses, often against fierce opposition from local authorities. Mystical writer. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 27 September 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

Born

28 March 1515 at Avila, Castile, Spain as Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada

Died

• 4 October 1582 at Alba de Tormes of natural causes in the arms of her secretary and close friend Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew
• body incorrupt
• relics preserved at Alba
• her heart shows signs of Transverberation (piercing of the heart), and is displayed, too

Canonized

12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV

Patronage

• sick people; against bodily ills or sickness
• against headaches
• against the death of parents
• lace makers or lace workers
• people in need of grace
• people in religious orders
• people ridiculed for their piety
• World Youth Day 2011
• Amos, Canada, diocese of
• Avellaneda-Lanús, Argentina, diocese of
• Berzano di Tortona, Italy
• Pozega, Croatia
• Spain

Representation

• nun wearing the habit of a Discalced Carmelite
• Carmelite nun with her heart pierced by an arrow held by an angel
• Carmelite nun holding a pierced heart, book and crucifix
• Carmelite nun with book and quill
• Carmelite nun receiving a message from a dove

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