Saint Teresa de Los Andes
Saint Teresa de los Andes (born July 13, 1900 AD in Santiago, Chile; died April 12, 1920 AD in Los Andes, Chile) was a Chilean Discalced Carmelite nun who died at age 19 after less than a year in the convent, having lived an intense interior life marked by mystical prayer, love of suffering, and extraordinary spiritual maturity. She was the first person born in Chile to be canonized, and the first Carmelite of the Americas to be declared a saint. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1993. Her feast day is July 13.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Teresa de Los Andes
| Saint Teresa de Los Andes | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 13 |
| Profession | Discalced Carmelite novice; mystic; spiritual diarist; first Chilean canonized saint |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Order of Discalced Carmelites; Carmelite mystical tradition; Chilean Catholicism; devotee of Thérèse of Lisieux; first saint of Chile; first Carmelite of the Americas canonized |
| Patronage | Chile; young people; Carmelite vocations; youth facing illness; those who seek holiness in everyday life; students |
| Attributes | Discalced Carmelite brown habit and white mantle; the Andes mountains behind her; a rose (Thérèse of Lisieux connection); her spiritual diary; a crucifix; the face of a joyful young woman |
| Birthplace | Santiago, Chile |
| Death Place | Los Andes, Chile |
| Cause of Death | Typhus (typhoid fever); died April 12, 1920, at the Carmelite convent of Los Andes; she was 19 years old; she had entered the convent only in May 1919 — less than a year before her death; she died on Holy Thursday, during Holy Week, which she had predicted and embraced as a union with Christ's passion; she had written extensively about her desire to suffer with Christ; her last words included offering her death for the conversion of sinners |
| Primary Shrine | Basilica and Carmelite Monastery of Los Andes — her cell; relics; pilgrimage basilica; hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually; principal shrine of Chilean Catholicism |
| Liturgical Class | Memorial (Roman Rite for Chile); July 13; Optional Memorial in general Roman calendar |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar (canonized 1993) |
Biography
Juana Fernández Solar was born July 13, 1900, in Santiago, Chile, the fourth child of a wealthy family. She received an excellent education and from an early age was devoted to prayer. At 14 she encountered Saint Thérèse of Lisieux's Story of a Soul, which decisively shaped her spiritual life.
She felt called to the Carmelites and sought to follow Thérèse's "Little Way." She kept a spiritual diary from 1915, writing extensively about her interior life, her love for Christ, and her desire to suffer with him.
She entered the Discalced Carmelite convent of Los Andes on May 7, 1919, taking the name Teresa de Jesús. She was a novice for less than a year.
During Holy Week 1920 she contracted typhus. She died on Holy Thursday, April 12, 1920, having expressed her joy at dying on the night of the Last Supper. She was 19 years old.
Pope John Paul II beatified her during his first visit to Chile in 1987 and canonized her in Rome in 1993 — the first Chilean saint and the first Carmelite of the Americas to be canonized.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Santiago, Chile
Death location: Los Andes, Chile
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Basilica and Carmelite Monastery, Los Andes — her cell and relics; hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually.
Feast day
July 13
Veneration
Saint Teresa de los Andes was a Chilean Carmelite who died at 19 after a brief but extraordinarily intense interior life. The first Chilean saint canonized and first Carmelite of the Americas. Feast July 13.
Prayers
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