Spanish Golden Age (16th century)
Feast: October 15
A Carmelite reformer and mystic who taught prayer as friendship with Christ in ordinary life.
Teresa (1515–1582) entered religious life young and later led a renewal of Carmel focused on simplicity and deep prayer. Her Interior Castle maps the soul’s journey toward union with God. She combined practical leadership with vivid spiritual experience, facing suspicion and resistance with courage and good humor.