St. Teresa of Ávila

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Feast day: October 15  ·  1515 – 1582  ·  Patron of Spain and those who suffer headaches

A mystic who reformed an order, a contemplative who crossed Spain founding convents, a woman so wise the Church made her one of her Doctors — St. Teresa of Ávila left behind some of the greatest writings on prayer ever penned, and a few lines found on a bookmark that have comforted the anxious ever since.

Who was St. Teresa?

Teresa was born in Ávila, Spain, in 1515 and entered the Carmelite order as a young woman. After years of mediocre religious life she underwent a profound conversion to deeper prayer, and began to receive extraordinary mystical graces, which she described with rare clarity in works like The Interior Castle and her Autobiography. Convinced the Carmelites had grown lax, she launched a reform — the “Discalced” (barefoot) Carmelites — founding convent after convent across Spain, often against fierce opposition, with the help of St. John of the Cross.

Practical, witty, and utterly given to God, she combined the highest mysticism with a famously down-to-earth common sense. She died in 1582. In 1970 Pope Paul VI declared her a Doctor of the Church — the first woman ever given that title.

Patron saint of Spain and those who suffer headaches

St. Teresa is the patron of Spain, of religious in need of reform, of those who pursue contemplative prayer, and — from the severe ailments she endured — of those who suffer headaches and illness. As a Doctor of the Church she is above all a teacher of prayer, and her writings remain a school of the interior life for anyone who wants to pray more deeply.

The Prayer of St. Teresa of Ávila

The lines found on a bookmark in her breviary after her death — Nada te turbe, “Let nothing disturb you”:

Let nothing disturb you,
let nothing frighten you,
all things pass away;
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God
finds he lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

Frequently asked

What is St. Teresa of Ávila the patron saint of?

St. Teresa is the patron of Spain, of those who suffer headaches and bodily illness, and of people devoted to contemplative prayer. She was the first woman named a Doctor of the Church.

When is the feast day of St. Teresa of Ávila?

October 15. She should not be confused with St. Thérèse of Lisieux (feast October 1) or St. Teresa of Calcutta (September 5).

What is the 'Let nothing disturb you' prayer?

A short meditation found on a bookmark in St. Teresa's prayer book after her death, beginning 'Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you' (Nada te turbe). It distills her teaching that, for the one who has God, nothing else is finally needed.

Is St. Teresa of Ávila the same as Mother Teresa?

No. St. Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish Carmelite mystic and Doctor of the Church. Mother Teresa — St. Teresa of Calcutta — was a 20th-century foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. They are different saints with similar names.

More saints: St. Thérèse of Lisieux · St. Joseph · all saints & prayers