Avila is a Medieval walled city. Home to St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross in the 15th century. The Old Town is the fine result of fruitful interaction between the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians. named a World Heritage Site in 1985.
The Medieval walls
The 2.5 km long wallls are punctuated by 88 turrets and 9 gates, Puertade San Vicente and Puertade Alcázar being the most impressive of those guarding the Romanesque defensive rampart. You can walk along the entire perimeter of the city walls on the outer side. Activities include ‘Theatre in the City Walls’, “Legendary Guided Tours’, ‘Medieval Festivals”, and others.
Cathedral – The apse of the Cathedral actually forms part of the walls, which reminds us of its defensive nature. The interior contains Romanesque sections, while the newer ones show a Gothic style. In fact, Ávila was among the first Castilian towns to use Gothic elements.
Teresa of Ávila, OCD
Also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish noblewoman called to convent life in the Catholic Church. A Carmelite nun, prominent Spanish mystic, religious reformer, author, theologian of the contemplative life and of mental prayer. On St. Peter’s Day in 1559, Teresa became firmly convinced that Jesus Christ had presented Himself to her in bodily form, though invisible. These visions lasted almost uninterruptedly for more than two years.
In another vision, a seraph drove the fiery point of a golden lance repeatedly through her heart, causing her an ineffable spiritual and bodily pain:
“I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it …”
The memory of this episode served as an inspiration throughout the rest of her life, and motivated her lifelong imitation of the life and suffering of Jesus, epitomized in the adage often associated with her: “Lord, either let me suffer or let me die.”
She was born Teresa Ali Fatim Corella Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, March 28. 1515, Ávila, Crown of Castile.
Died October 4, 1582.
Beatified April 24, 1614 by Pope Paul V.
Canonized March 12, 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.
Declared a Doctor of The Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970 for her writing and teaching on prayer. The first of only four women Doctors which total 37.
St. Teresa is the patron saint of Headache sufferers. Her symbol is a heart, an arrow, and a book.
Feast Day: October 15
John of the Cross
Venerated as Saint John of the Cross, was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and he is one of the 37 Doctors of the Church. John of the Cross is known gratefully for his writings. In 1568 he co-founded the first monastery of Discalced Carmelite brothers in November 1568. In 1572 St. John came to Avila at St. Teresa’s invitation. She had been appointed prioress of the Convent of the Incarnation there in 1571. John became the spiritual director and confessor of Teresa and the other 130 nuns there, as well as for a wide range of laypeople in the city. In 1574, John accompanied Teresa for the foundation of a new religious community in Segovia, returning to Ávila after staying there a week. Aside from the one trip, John seems to have remained in Ávila between 1572 and 1577. At some time between 1574 and 1577, while praying in a loft overlooking the sanctuary in the Monastery of the Incarnation in Ávila, John had a vision of the crucified Christ, which led him to create his drawing of Christ “from above”. In 1641, this drawing was placed in a small monstrance and kept in Ávila. This same drawing inspired the artist Salvador Dali’s 1951 work Christ of Saint John of the Cross.
He was born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez June 24, 1542 in Fontiveros, Ávila, Crown of Castile
Died: December 14, 1591 (age 49) in Úbeda, Kingdom of Jaén, Crown of Castile
Beatified: January 25, 1675 by Pope Clement X
Canonized: December 27, 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII
Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1926
St. John is the Patron saint of Contemplative life, contemplatives, Mystical theology, mystics, Spanish poets.
