Teresa of Avila

“Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.” ― Saint Teresa of Avila (March 28, 1515 – October 4, 1582)

St. Teresa of Ávila, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was also called Saint Teresa of Jesus. She was born in Avila and died in Alba, Spain. She was the third child of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda by his second wife, Doña who died when Teresa was 12.

She was a  Spanish nun, one of the great mystics, a reformer of the Carmelite Order, Doctor of the Church and religious woman of the Roman Catholic Church.

She was an influential and pivotal figure of her generation. St. Teresa, dissatisfied with the quality of her religious life after living several years at the Incarnation Convent in Avila, had begun her reform to establish houses. She founded 17 Carmels in her lifetime and together with St. John of the Cross, she succeeded in restoring the Carmelite Order.

From her earliest years she was religiously inclined. She is known as the patroness of the religious and the sick. She received numerous visions during a period of great illness.

She died in 1582 at the age of 67 and was made a saint in 1622. In 1970, she was named a Doctor of the Church for her writings and teachings.

St. Teresa was a woman who achieved greatness at a time when women had few opportunities.

On October 15, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus, more commonly known as Saint Teresa of Ávila.

The historic walled city of Ávila in central Spain is synonymous with the story of Saint Teresa of Ávila, dating back to the 1500s.