In commemoration of the International
Women’s Day that was recently celebrated last March 8, we praise and thank God
for having been blessed with a number of women saints of Mt. Carmel, with two of
them given the distinction as Doctors of the Church.
St. Teresa of Avila (28 March 1515 - 4 October 1582)
Known for her strong character and extroversion, she was 14 when she lost her mother and took on the Blessed Virgin Mary as her mother. She entered the Carmelite convent in Avila after miraculously recovering from a long illness. Displeased with the seeming laxity displayed by the other sisters in the cloister, she introduced many reforms and established the Order of Discalced Carmelites. She would later be joined by another spiritual giant, St. John of the Cross. Aside from establishing several convents in Spain, she also wrote her mystical experiences and difficulties in her autobiography. She was a mater theologian of her time, her written works include the Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. She was canonized on March 12, 1622 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970--the first woman doctor of the Catholic Church.
St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (2 April 1566 - 25 May 1607)
A contemporary of St. Teresa of Avila
who was also a mystic, St. Mary Magdalene was a young child when she
experienced her first mystical experience. Born to a wealthy family in
Florence, Italy, she chose to enter the Carmelite monastery against her father’s
wishes. Known for her austere life, she experienced raptures and ecstasies as
well as long periods of spiritual dryness. She had a deep longing for reform of
the Church during the tumultuous period of the Reformation. She was canonized
on May 25, 1670.
St. Therese of Lisieux (2 January 1873 - 30 September 1897)
Perhaps the most known of all the
Carmelite saints, St. Therese was the youngest child of Zelie and Louis Martin (both
of whom have been jointly declared saints in 2015). As a young child, she was
temperamental and stubborn and suffered a nervous breakdown after the death of
her mother. She recovered from this illness after the statue of Mother Mary
smiled at her; but her complete conversion happened in Christmas 1886. By a
special dispensation of the pope she entered the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux
at 15. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, gave a rich account of her
spiritual life, her desire for the missions, her vocation of Love, and the
Little Way—a way of spiritual childhood. Canonized on 17 Mary 1925, St.
Therese is the co-patroness of the missions together with Saint Francis Xavier
and co-patroness of France after St. Joan of Arc. She was proclaimed a Doctor
of the Church by St. Pope John Paul II on October 19, 1997.
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (12 October 1891 - 9 August 1942)
Born in Breslau, Poland to strict Jewish parents, Edith Stein was a brilliant student who became an Atheist during her teens. She finished her doctoral degree in Philosophy during a time when female students were rare. During her studies she met prominent philosopher Edmund Husserl and eventually became his assistant. Reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and underdoing a series of events led to her conversion to Catholicism and subsequent entry to the Carmelite monastery in Cologne in 1933. She took on the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and quickly rose to spiritual heights, ending in Auschwitz in August 1942. Among her written works include the Science of the Cross and the Finite and Eternal Being. She was canonized on 11 October 1998.
St. Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity (18 July 1880 - 9 November 1906)
Another mystic, St. Elizabeth was a gifted pianist when she entered the cloister of Mt. Carmel in Dijon, France in 1901. Called to religious life even at a young age, she was inclined towards contemplative prayer and composed the famous prayer "O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore". She was greatly influenced by another French contemporary, St. Therese of Lisieux (The Little Flower), whose autobiography she had read. She wrote several other works before succumbing to Addison's disease in 1906 at the age of 26. She was canonized on October 16, 2016.
A growing Carmelite family
With the blessing and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the protection of Our Blessed Mother, the whole Carmelite family continues to grow--in number and in holiness.
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