Teresa of the Andes

Infobox Saint
name=Saint Teresa of the Andes
birth_date=birth date|1900|7|13|mf=y
death_date=death date and age|1920|4|12|1900|7|13|mf=y
feast_day=April 12
venerated_in=


imagesize=200px
caption=Teresa of the Andes
birth_place=Santiago, Chile
death_place=Carmelite monastery of Los Andes, Chile
titles=
beatified_date=April 3, 1987
beatified_place=Santiago, Chile
beatified_by=Pope John Paul II
canonized_date=March 21, 1993
canonized_place=Rome
canonized_by=Pope John Paul II
attributes=small cross, flowers
patronage=young people
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues=
prayer=
prayer_attrib=

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 Discalced Carmelite nun and took the name Teresa. Toward the end of her short life, Teresa began an apostolate of letter-writing, sharing her thoughts on the spiritual life with many people. Still aged 19 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.

ee also

* Carmelite Rule of St. Albert
* Book of the First Monks
* Constitutions of the Carmelite Order
* Hermit

External links

* [http://www.carmelite-seremban.org/Spirituality/saint15.html St Teresa of Jesus of the Andes OCD, July 13 - Memorial]
* [http://www.carmelite-seremban.org/Spirituality/carmelite_calendar.html Discalced Carmelite Calendar and Saints]
* [http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/?id=1900 Saint Teresa of Los Andes]
* [http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_19930321_teresa-de-jesus_en.html Vatican news]
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintt06.htm Terese of the Andes]
* [http://www.karmel.at/ics/edith/stein_9.html Carmelite Vocation]
* [http://www.carmelite.com/saints/john/works/index.shtml St. John of the Cross - Collected Works]
* [http://www.carmelite.com/saints/john/works/p_10.htm Poetry of John of the Cross]