15 October Feast
Known to her family as Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada, she became the reformer of Carmel, mother of the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars, "spiritual mother" (as is engraved under her statue in the Vatican Basilica), patron of Catholic writers (from 1965) and Doctor of the Church (1970), the first woman with Saint Catherine of Siena to ever receive this last title.
Saint Teresa is among the most important figures of all time for Catholic spirituality. Her works - especially the four best known (The Life, The Way of Perfection, The Mansions and The Foundations) - together with her more historical works, contain a doctrine which encompasses the whole of the spiritual life, from the first steps right up to intimacy with God at the centre of the Interior Castle. Her Letters show her occupied with a great variety of everyday problems.
Read more about the life of St Teresa
To learn more about the life of St. Teresa and her work and legacy, we suggest reading the books both published by Edizioni Carmelitane:
- The Heirs of St. Teresa of Avila
- "I Consider the Labor Well Spent" A Mini-Course on the Interior Castle
