Mystics

The Carmelite Mystics form a group of major spiritual writers in the Church. They are also the Doctors of the Church.

The first Carmelite to be declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926 was our Holy Father St. John of the Cross. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom. A joint founder of the Discalced Carmelites along with St. Theresa of Avila, St. John is the Doctor of Mystical Theology.

ST. TERESA OF AVILA

This Spanish nun and mystic, our founder and holy mother, is the first woman Doctor of the Church. She wrote several spiritual classics like The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual depth and experience. She died at Alba de Tormes in 1582. St. Teresa was made the first woman doctor of the Church in 1970.

ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX

She was a French Carmelite nun. Known as The Little Flower, her autobiographical Story of a Soul has become a spiritual classic, inspiring millions to follow her "Little Way" of holiness. Already Patroness of the Missions, she was proclaimed the third woman Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II on October 19th, 1997.