Saint Teresa of the Andes
Dan Fefferman
| Teresa of the Andes | |
|---|---|
 Teresa of the Andes | |
| Born | July 13 1900 in Santiago, Chile |
| Died | April 12 1920 (aged 19) in Carmelite monastery of Los Andes, Chile |
| Beatified | April 3, 1987, Santiago, Chile |
| Canonized | March 21, 1993, Rome |
| Feast | April 12 |
| Attributes | small cross, flowers |
| Patronage | Chile, young people |
Saint Teresa of the Andes, Teresa de Jesús "de los Andes," (July 13 1900 – April 12 1920) was a Chilean nun canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
She was born as Juana Fernández del Solar in Santiago, Chile: her nickname was "Juanita." She was the daughter of an upper class family. Early in her life she read an autobiography of the French Saint Thérèse de Lisieux; the experience had a profound effect on Juanita's already pious character, coming to the realization she wanted to serve God.
In 1919, at age 19, Juanita became a Carmelite nun and took the name Teresa. Her family didn't oppose to her vocation itself but wanted her to live in another convent different from the one she chose, closer to Santiago and more comfortable for living; Teresa gently but firmly rejected their offers, since that special convent offered the simple lifestyle Teresa desired and the joy of living in a community of women completely devoted to God. She focused her days on prayer and sacrifice. "I am God's," she wrote in her diary. "He created me and is my beginning and my end."
Toward the end of her short life, Teresa began an apostolate of letter-writing, sharing her thoughts on the spiritual life with many people. At age 20 she contracted typhus and quickly took her final vows. She died during Holy Week.
Teresa remains popular with the estimated 100,000 pilgrims who visit her shrine in Los Andes each year. She is Chile's first saint, and is specially popular among females and younger people.
Trivia
- During the early 90's, the popular telenovela actress Paulina Urrutia (now the Culture Minister in Chile), played Teresa in a television miniseries for the TVN Chile network. This became one of her most popular roles, to the point that people asked her in the streets to bless them.
- Luis, one of her siblings, was present at her beatification. He was the last direct relative of hers still alive in those years.
See Also
- Carmelite Rule of St. Albert
- Book of the First Monks
- Constitutions of the Carmelite Order
- Hermit
External links
- St Teresa of Jesus of the Andes OCD, July 13 - Memorial
- Discalced Carmelite Calendar and Saints
- Saint Teresa of Los Andes
- Vatican news
- Terese of the Andes
- Carmelite Vocation
- St. John of the Cross - Collected Works
- Poetry of John of the Cross
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