St Teresa of Ávila was born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada on 28 March 1515. She was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.

At the time of the Counter-Reformation, the resurgence of Catholic belief following the protestant reformation in the early 16th century, Teresa was a central figure in reforming the Carmelite Orders of both women and men.

She had grown up in a devout family and entered the Carmelites at 18. But she soon realised that her sisters were not strict enough in their spiritual duties, and so set about reforming the Carmelites. Despite much opposition, she created her own convent and developed a new constitution that went back to the order’s original rule.

Five years later, she set about founding new convents across Spain, supported by her friend, St. John of the Cross. She had many mystical experiences and is famous for her explanations on prayer, leading to her official title as a Doctor of the Church, the first woman to hold that title.

Teresa died of an illness or 15 October 1582, while on one of her journeys from Burgos to Alba de Tormes, and 15 October is celebrated as her feast day. Her last words were: "My Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done. O my Lord and my Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another." Forty years after her death, in 1622, Teresa was canonised by Pope Gregory XV. 

Her body remains where she was buried at iAlba de Tormes – that is, all except for her right foot and part of the upper jaw (now in Rome), her hand (in Lisbon), her left eye and left hand (in Ronda), her left arm and heart (in the Museum of the Church of the Annunciation, Alba de Tormes) and a finger each in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the Church of Our Lady of Loreto in Paris!

The picture above is part of a painting of St Teresa by Eduardo Balaca - [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39666185