In this Jubilee Year of pilgrimage, you can walk in the footseps of St Teresa of Ávila
By any account, St Teresa of Ávila is one of the most remarkable women in the history of the Catholic Church. A Spanish nun, she is recognised and acknowledged as a great mystic and author of spiritual classics. With St John of the Cross she was the originator of the Carmelite Reform, which restored and emphasised the austerity and contemplative character of Carmelite life. Forty years after her death, in 1622, Teresa was canonised by Pope Gregory XV. On 27th September 1970 Pope Paul VI proclaimed Teresa the first female Doctor of the Church in recognition of her centuries-long spiritual legacy to Catholicism.
The path that Teresa took to her profound closeness to God was not an easy one. She was born on 28th March 1515. Her mother died in 1529 and, despite her father’s opposition, Teresa entered the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation at Ávila, Spain. Within two years her health collapsed, and she was disabled for three years, during which time she developed a love for mental prayer. In 1555 she experienced a religious awakening and In 1558 began to consider the restoration of Carmelite life to its original observance of austerity, which had relaxed in the 14th and 15th centuries.
In 1562, with Pope Pius IV’s authorisation, she opened the first convent of the Carmelite Reform but this was met initially with a storm of hostility from municipal and religious personages. Despite frail health and great difficulties, Teresa spent the rest of her life establishing and nurturing 16 more convents throughout Spain. She made exhausting missions on her spiritual journey but was fatally stricken en route to Ávila from Burgos in 1582, dying in Abla de Tormes on 4th October.
Today the many places associated with St Teresa and her life’s journey have become centres of pilgrimage and devotion to people from around the world, who journey devotedly each year in search of a deeper understanding of both her life and their own.
Over recent years the Carmelite Friars of Boars Hill, Oxford have organised very popular retreat pilgrimages to Ávila and the other locations associated with St Teresa’s life. In this Year of Jubilee 2025 – which has been themed “pilgrims of Hope” – everyone is encouraged to make a pilgrimage of some kind if they can.
This year Carmelite friars Fr Matt Blake OCD and Fr Kelvin Ekhoegbe OCD will be leading an inspring and spiritually instructive seven day pilgrimage to Ávila and the surrounding region under the theme of “Let Nothing Trouble you,” which was a phrase of comfort and reassurance St Teresa often used when anyone expressed their concerns or worries.
The Carmelite Retreat Pilgrimage to Ávila takes place from 10th-16th October 2025, and also includes visits to Toledo, Segovia and Alba de Tormes, with Fr Kelvin and Fr Matt as your knowledgeable and trusted guides.
“Teresa’s gentleness stands as a reminder to us of her humanity and a testimony to the continued work of grace as she clearly expressed in her writings of the Interior Castle which she began to write in the monastery of St Joseph in Toledo in 1577,” says Fr Matt.
“The apostolic zeal of ST Teresa was fired up by her commitment and conviction to praying for the world in all its needs and struggles. It manifested in her willingness to pour out her life in prayer and works for the good of others and for the building of Christ’s Church. Her death in Alba de Tormes echoed her dying words: “I die a daughter of the Church” one dressed for service.
“Join us in this adventure with St Teresa in her transformative journey of the soul to God through prayer. Let us walk in her footsteps as she lived and taught.”
Click here to find out more about how you can walk in the footsteps of St Teresa of Ávila this coming Year of Jubilee …