St. Teresa of Avila and Her Prayerful Quest to Reform and Establish New Carmelite Houses

If you know me, you know I enjoy learning about historical Christian women. It surprised me to see St. Teresa of Avila, a sixteenth-century Carmelite nun and reformer, featured in a recent Fox News article. The Diocese of Avila in Spain reported the opening of St. Teresa’s tomb. The scientific medical team and an ecclesiastical group of Discalced Carmelite nuns, monks, and priests witnessed the exhumation and reported that “her body was found perfectly preserved.”[1] Medical researchers plan to learn more about the health conditions St. Teresa experienced and how to preserve relics best.

For my Protestant readers, discussing relics, saints, and Carmelite nuns may sound unfamiliar. My knowledge greatly increased five years ago during an immersive course in Italy on medieval spirituality and theology. Intrigued? Join me to learn about St. Teresa of Avila and why she embarked on her prayerful quest to reform and establish new Carmelite houses.

Taking Her Vows

Teresa was born in 1515 into a wealthy Spanish family in Avila. From a historical perspective, she was a toddler when Martin Luther and his 95 theses launched the first reforms of the Catholic church.[2] Between the ages of 16 and 20, Teresa entered the local Carmelite convent to further her education, and within two years took her vows as Sister Teresa of Jesus. Shortly after that, she became ill and suffered partial paralysis for three years, a time she spent in fervent prayer.[3] She recovered, though she endured subsequent health challenges.

Her Spiritual Struggle and Renewal

As a woman of means, Teresa’s early years in the convent were quite comfortable. She entertained visitors and enjoyed the freedom to visit friends outside of the convent. Yet, she struggled in her faith life. Teresa writes, “I went through a life of the greatest conflict. On the one hand, God called me; on the other, I followed the world.”[4] Then in 1555, after reading Augustine’s Confessions, she experienced a life-altering spiritual transformation. This renewal pressed her to seek a deeper communion with God, to reengage in prayer, and to dedicate herself to a more austere life modeled after twelfth-century Carmelites.[5]   

Engaging as a Mystic

Considered a mystic because she had visions and raptures, Teresa wrote about these experiences in letters and books. One historian noted, “These voices, visions, and levitations persisted during periods throughout her lifetime and contributed to her reputation as a saint.”[6]

Establishing the Barefoot Carmelites

In her mid-forties, she founded a small convent in Avila after she, like Luther, recognized that the church needed reform. She set out to reorganize and expand the Carmelite order focused on a simpler and more contemplative life.[7] In the next two decades, she established sixteen Carmelite houses across Spain. The order became known as the Discalced Carmelites, or the Barefoot Carmelites (because the nuns wore sandals sans socks).[8] Teresa built a coalition of support from bishops, wealthy patrons, and friends, “most famously joining with Saint John of the Cross to found fourteen monasteries for men.”[9]

Engaging as a Writer

In addition to her reform work, Teresa authored five books: The Book of Her Life, The Road to Perfection, The Interior Castle, The Book of Her Foundations, and Meditations on the Song of Songs.[10]She also wrote letters, poetry, and leadership manuals for the Carmelite order. Her writings are “considered masterpieces on the progress of the Christian soul toward God through prayer and contemplation.”[11]

Engaging as a Reformer

Like most church reformers, Teresa encountered opposition. Sega, the Pope’s nuncio (his diplomatic representative) came to Spain to evaluate her commitment to the church and examine her reforming activities. Sega described Teresa as “a restless gadabout, disobedient, contumacious woman who promulgates pernicious doctrine under pretense of devotion.”[12] His summary echoes derogatory statements about women made by Tertullian, Aquinas, and other church fathers. Read more here. Sega had encountered a focused and determined visionary with significant ministry oversight. Unfortunately, a strong and accomplished woman engaged in public ministry was often unappreciated in that era.

Declared the First Female Doctor of the Church

Sega continued, “She is ambitious and teaches theology as if she were a doctor of the Church in spite of St. Paul’s prohibition.”[13] Ironically, Sega could not have known his critique of Teresa would in time be “prophetic.” Despite his negative report, the Pope permitted the Discalced Carmelite convents to continue functioning, and Teresa continued her reform work. The year before Teresa passed away, the Discalced Carmelites gained independent jurisdiction.[14] In 1622, the Roman Catholic Church declared Teresa a saint. Three hundred years later, in September 1970, Pope Paul VI proclaimed St. Teresa a doctor of the church. She was the first female to receive this honorary title granted by official papal proclamation to saints whose lives were deemed holy and who contributed doctrinally through their writings and teachings. Female doctors of the church, in addition to St. Teresa, are St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Hildegard of Bingen.

Conclusion

In her book The Interior Castle, St. Teresa writes, “In my opinion, we shall never completely know ourselves if we don’t strive to know God.”[15] A woman of strong faith and many good works, she remained steadfast in her prayerful quest to reform and establish new Carmelite houses. St. Teresa ran with “perseverance the race marked out,” having fixed her “eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:1­2). May her life and witness encourage you to run your race with steadfast faith.

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[1] Andrea Vacchiano, “Experts stunned after the corpse of medieval Catholic saint is uncovered, found in remarkable condition,” Fox News, September 8, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/experts-stunned-corpse-medieval-catholic-saint-uncovered-found-remarkable-condition.print

[2] Myrna Grant, “Teresa of Avila,” cbeinternational.org, December 26, 2013. https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/teresa-avila/

[3] Carole Slade, “Teresa of Avila (1515­–82),” in Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters, Marian Ann Taylor, ed., (2012), 493–98.

[4] Ruth A. Tucker and Walter Liefeld, Daughters of the Church: Women and Ministry from New Testament Times to the Present, (1987), 202­–204.

[5] Amy Oden, In Her Words: Women’s Writings in the History of Christian Thought, (1994), 223. See also Slade, “Teresa of Avila,” 494.

[6] Tucker and Liefeld, Daughters, 202.

[7] Ogden, In Her Words, 223. See also Slade, “Teresa of Avila,” 494; Taylor, Daughters, 203.

[8] Taylor, Handbook, 497. “As of December 2011, the Discalced Carmelites numbered 3,997 monks in 612 monasteries and 9,552 nuns in 890 convents in over one hundred countries worldwide (General House of the Discalced Carmelites).”

[9] Grant, “Teresa.”

[10] Taylor, Handbook, 494.

[11] “Women of Faith: Meet the Four Female Doctors of the Church,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., August 5, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/print/article/2251313

[12] Tucker, Handbook, 203.

[13] Tucker, Daughters, 203.

[14] Slade, “Teresa,” 494.

[15] Ogden, In Her Words, 227.