October 15 - Saint Teresa of Avila
Quick Facts- Spanish noble, the daughter of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda and Dona Beatriz.
- She grew up reading the lives of the saints, and playing at ""hermit"" in the garden.
- Crippled by disease in her youth, which led to her being well educated at home, she was cured after prayer to Saint Joseph.
- Her mother died when Teresa was 12, and she prayed to Our Lady to be her replacement.
- Her father opposed her entry to religious life, so she left home without telling anyone, and entered a Carmelite house at 17.
- Seeing her conviction to her call, her father and family consented.
- Soon after taking her vows, Teresa became gravely ill, and her condition was aggravated by the inadquate medical help she received; she never fully recovered her health.
- She began receiving visions, and was examined by Dominicans and Jesuits, including Saint Francis Borgia, who pronounced the visions to be holy and true.
- She considered her original house too lax in its rule, so she founded a reformed convent of Saint John of Avila.
- Founded several houses, often against fierce opposition from local authorities.
- Mystical writer.
- Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 27 September 1970 by Pope Paul VI
