Saint Teresa of Avila, First Woman Doctor of the Church

 

Saint Teresa of Avila (also known as Theresa of Avila; The Roving Nun; Teresa of Jesus; Teresa de Avila) was born in 1515 A.D. as Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada at Avila, at Castile, Spain. Teresa was a Spanish noble, the daughter of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatriz. She grew up reading the lives of the saints, and playing at "hermit" in the garden. 

She was crippled by disease in her youth, which led to her being well educated at home. She was cured of her affliction after prayer to Saint Joseph. Her mother died when Teresa was 12, and she prayed to Our Lady to be her replacement. Her father opposed her entry to religious life, so she left home without telling anyone, and entered a Carmelite house at the age of 17. Seeing her conviction to her call, her father and family consented.

Not long after taking her vows, Teresa became seriously ill, and the inadequate medical help she received aggravated her condition. She never fully recovered her health. She began receiving visions, and was examined by Dominicans and Jesuits, including Saint Francis Borgia, who pronounced the visions holy and true.

Teresa considered her original house too lax in its rule, so she founded a reformed convent of Saint John of Avila. She founded several houses, often receiving fierce resistance from local authorities. Teresa was a mystical writer, and most of her works are preserved until today. Pope Paul VI proclaimed Teresa a Doctor of the Church on September 27, 1970. She has the distinction of being the first woman saint to be declared a Doctor of the Church.

Saint Teresa of Avila died of natural causes on October 4, 1582 at Alba de Tormes in the arms of her secretary and close friend Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew. Her body is incorrupt, and her relics preserved at Alba. Her heart shows signs of Transverberation (piercing of the heart), and is displayed, too.

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Saint Camillus of Lellis

 

 

Saint Camillus of Lellis (also known as Camillus de Lellis; Camillo de Lellis) was born in 1550 A.D. at Bocchiavico, Abruzzi, the kingdom of Naples, Italy. He was the son of a military officer who had served both Naples and France. His mother died when he was very young. Camillus spent his youth as a soldier, fighting for the Venetians against the Turks, and then for Naples. He was reported as a large individual, perhaps as tall as 6'6", and powerfully built, but suffered all his life from abscesses on his feet. A gambling addict, he lost so much he had to take a job working construction on a building belonging to the Capuchins. They converted him.

Camillus entered the Capuchin novitiate three times, but a nagging leg injury that he received while fighting the Turks, forced him to give up each time. He went to Rome for medical treatment where he met Saint Philip Neri who became his priest and confessor. He moved into San Giacomo Hospital for the incurable, and eventually became its administrator. Lacking an education, he began to study with children when he was 32 years old.

Camillus tried to found a lay order of hospital caregivers but failed. He decided to become a priest and was ordained in 1582. In 1584, Camillus founded the Congregation of the Servants of the Sick (the Camellians) who care for the sick in both hospitals and homes. It was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1586 and erected into an order by Pope Gregory XIV in 1591. The order expanded with houses in several countries, and today it maintains a website, http://www.camillians.org/. Camillus honored the sick as living images of Christ, and hoped that the service he gave them did penance for his wayward youth. Camillus was reported to have the gifts of miraculous healing and prophecy.

Saint Camillus of Lellis died of natural causes on July 14, 1614 at Genoa, Italy. His relics are in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalen at Rome.