TERESA, or THERESA, ST., one of the most remarkable of the women saints of the modern Roman calendar; born in Avila, Old Castile, Spain, March 28, 1515, of the noble house of Cepeda. Even as a child she was remarkable for piety of a most enthusiastic kind; and, educated in a convent in her native city, she entered a convent of the Carmelite order there in 1534. In this convent she continued to reside for nearly 30 years, but it was not till about the year 1539 that her con stitution became strong enough to permit her to follow, even in an imperfect the observances of conventual life. After a time her religious exercises reached a most extraordinary degree of asceticism. Her prayers were almost continual, and she was reported to be favored with vis ions, ecstasies, and other supernatural visitations. The fame of her sanctity spread not only throughout Spain, but into almost every part of the Church.
The most notable and permanent fruit of the enthusiastic spirituality of Teresa is the reform of the Carmelite order, of which she became the instrument. After a time she obtained permission from the Holy See to remove with her little com munity to a humble house in Avila, where she re-established in its full rigor the ancient Carmelite rule, as approved by Innocent IV. in 1247, with some addi tional observances introduced by herself.
This new convent of St. Joseph's was es tablished in 1562, in which year she as sumed the name of Teresa de Jesus; and in 1565 she obtained from the Pope, Pius IV., a formal approval for the rule as modified by her. In 1567 the general of
the Carmelite order, F. Rubeo, was so struck, during his visitation of the con vents at Avila, with the condition of that over which Teresa presided that he urged on her the duty of extending throughout the order the reforms thus successfully initiated. Teresa entered on the work with great energy, and though she met with much opposition, nevertheless suc ceeded in carrying out her reforms.
In 1579 the Carmelites of the stricter observance established by Teresa were released from the jurisdiction of the old superiors, and united into a distinct as sociation, with a separate head and a dis tinct organization which was approved in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII. Under this new constitution the association flourished and extended; and within her own lifetime no fewer than 17 convents of women and 16 of men accepted the re forms which she had originated. Teresa died at Alba, Oct. 4, 1582, and was can onized by Gregory XV. in 1622, her feast being fixed on Oct. 15. She left a num ber of works, which have at all times maintained a high reputation among a large section of her own Church; their merits are also acknowledged by non Catholic writers. The best-known trea tises are her autobiography, "The Way of Perfection," "The Book of the Founda tions," and "The Interior Castle." Her works in the original Spanish fill two folio volumes (Salamanca, 1587). Biog raphies have been written in Spanish, French, Italian, German and English.