When was Teresa of Ávila born and where?
Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada was born on the 28th of March 1515. Her birthplace remains a matter of historical debate between the cities of Ávila and Gotarrendura in Spain.
Questions about Teresa of Ávila
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What happened to Teresa of Ávila's father during her childhood?
Her paternal grandfather Juan Sánchez de Toledo was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition for allegedly returning to Judaism after being forced to convert to Christianity. Her father Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda eventually managed to assume a Catholic identity again and became one of the wealthiest men in Ávila as a successful wool merchant.
How did Teresa of Ávila die and when was she canonized?
Teresa of Ávila died in 1582 either before midnight of the 4th of October or early in the morning of the 15th of October which is celebrated as her feast day. She was canonized forty years after her death in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.
Why did Teresa of Ávila found reformed Carmelite convents?
She resolved to found a reformed Carmelite convent correcting the laxity she had found elsewhere where observance of cloister appeared to lose its purpose due to daily invasions of visitors. The new convent established in 1562 was named St. Joseph's and included absolute poverty and renunciation of ownership of property.
What major work did Teresa of Ávila write about spiritual stages?
Teresa wrote The Interior Castle in 1577 and published it in 1588 containing the basis for what she felt should be the ideal journey of faith through seven successive interior courts or chambers known as mansions. Her autobiography La Vida de la Santa Madre Teresa de Jesús describes four stages in the ascent of the soul to God including mental prayer meditation and ecstatic consciousness.