Carmelite Saints
St. Teresa of Jesus
Teresa was born in Avila, Spain, in 1515. She entered into the Carmelite Order and made great progress in the way of perfection and was granted mystical revelations. Wishing to share in the spiritual renewal of the Church of her time, she began to live her religious life more ardently and soon attracted many companions, to whom she was like a mother. She also helped in the reform of the Carmelite friars, and in this had to endure great trials. She wrote books which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual experience. She died at Alba de Tormes, Spain, in 1582. In 1972, Pope Paul VI named her, along with St. Catherine of Siena, the first female Doctor of the Church.
Feast Day: October 15
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St. John of the Cross
John was born at Fontiveros, Spain, in 1542. He entered the Carmelites and with the permission of his superior began to live a stricter life. Afterwards, he was persuaded by St. Teresa of Jesus to begin, along with some others, the Discalced reform within the Order. This cost him much hard work and many trials. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom, to which his many spiritual writings give eloquent witness. He has been called the greatest lyrical poet of the Spanish language, and has been named a Doctor of the Church.
Feast Day: December 14
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St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Thérèse Martin was born in Alençon, France in 1873. When Thérèse was seven years old, her mother died, and her family moved to Lisieux. She entered the Carmelite monastery of Lisieux at the age of 15. She lived in greatest humility, evangelical simplicity and confidence in God. By her words and example she taught the novices these same virtues. Out of obedience to her superiors, who asked her to write down her memories of childhood, St. Thérèse produced what is today known as The Story of a Soul, one of the most popular spiritual autobiographies ever written. Discovering that her vocation was to be love in the heart of the Church, St. Thérèse offered her life for the salvation of souls and the spread of the Church. She died from tuberculosis on September 30, 1897. She was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in October of 1998.
Feast Day: October 1
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St. Teresa Benedicta
Edith Stein was born to a Jewish family at Breslau on October 12, 1891. Through her passionate study of philosophy she searched after truth and found it in reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Jesus. In 1922 she was baptized a Catholic and in 1933 she entered the Carmel of Cologne where she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was gassed and cremated at Auschwitz on August 9, 1942, during the Nazi persecution and died a martyr for the Christian faith after having offered her holocaust for the people of Israel. A woman of singular intelligence and learning, she left behind a body of writing notable for its doctrinal richness and profound spirituality. She was named a co-patroness of Europe by Pope John Paul II in 1999.
Feast Day: October 12
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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
Elizabeth Catez was born on July 18, 1880 to Capt. Joseph and Marie Catez, at the military camp in Avors, France. From her earliest days, Elizabeth was noted for her passionate nature – a passion that manifested itself in willfulness and violent temper tantrums, but also in a notable love for Jesus and for prayer. When she was fourteen, Elizabeth was moved to make a perpetual vow of virginity. Shortly afterward, she experienced the Lord’s call to Carmel. Finally, after her twenty-first birthday, Elizabeth entered her longed-for Carmel. She received the name Sr. Elizabeth of the Trinity. The sisters recognized at once her profound and genuine spirit of prayer. They also noted her eagerness to be of service and her warm, gracious personality. Elizabeth of the Trinity was beatified in 1984 by Pope St. John Paul II who presented her to the Church as one who led a life ‘hidden in Christ in God,’ and as a brilliant witness to the joy of being ‘rooted and grounded in love.’ The date of her canonization is October 16, 2016.
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St. Teresa de los Andes
St. Teresa de Los Andes was born Juanita Fernández Solar at Santiago, Chile, on July 13, 1900. From her adolescence she was devoted to Christ, and described God as "Infinite Joy." She entered the monastery of Discalced Carmelite Nuns at Los Andes on May 7, 1919, where she was given the religious name of Teresa of Jesus. She died on April 12 of the following year after having made her religious profession. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II, who proposed her as a model for young people. She is the first Chilean and the first member of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America to be beatified.
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