SAINTS FOR ALL SEASONS
SAINT TERESA OF THE ANDES

By Brother Patrick

On their website, the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart in Los Angeles share what it means to be a Carmelite. They say: “Carmelite spirituality speaks to the heart. It is in essence, recognizing the deep desire that resides in every person, the desire and hunger for God, whether we know it or not. Carmelites want to see God now. And prayer is the open door through which one begins to enter in, to see and to experience the depths that can be explored within each soul, simply because God dwells in each human heart.” 

This is the holy longing that inspires the sainted lives of Edith Stein, Simon Stock, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and Therese of Lisieux. Indeed, it is the Story of a Soul, the autobiography of the Little Flower, that speaks to the heart of a young girl in Santiago, Chile at the dawn of the twentieth century.

Juana Fernandez Solar is born on July 13, 1900. She is a pious child, but prone to vanity and outbursts of temper. She is educated at home, then at a school run by the Society of the Sacred Heart. At some point during her school years, Juana reads about Saint Therese. Her life is forever changed. She goes from being selfish and precocious to devoting her whole life — body, heart, and soul — to God. She is soon gifted with an image of the Little Flower. In gratitude, Juana writes in her diary: “It gives me great joy. I commend myself to little Therese so…that I might become a Carmelite.”

Carmelites live to serve others. They live to pray without ceasing. They live to commune with God in the silence. They live to imitate the Blessed Mother, who gives her life to God for the salvation of souls. And they live to sacrifice their own will in order to fully embrace God’s will. This is the life to which Juana aspires. Her family, however, is initially indifferent. When Juana tells her mother about her vocation and her desire to be a Carmelite, her mother says: “Go. Ask your father.” When she writes to her father, he does not reply. But eventually, Juana asks in person and her father agrees.

In May 1919, shortly before her nineteenth birthday, Juana enters the Carmelite Convent of Saint Rose of the Andes. She is given a new name: Sister Teresa of Jesus. She writes in her diary: “Our Lord spent thirty years of his life in prayer and solitude. He dedicated only three years to preaching. In the Blessed Sacrament, he continues his uninterrupted prayers. In heaven, the labor of our souls will be to love and to adore him. So let us begin on earth what we will be doing in heaven for all eternity.”

Sister Teresa is just beginning to fulfill the promise of her vocation when God calls her to the cross. She is diagnosed with typhus, an infectious disease that causes rash, headache, high fever, and often delirium. Before the discovery of antibiotics, typhus is fatal in ten percent to sixty percent of all cases. She may also be suffering from the so-called Spanish Flu which kills more than twenty million people around the world between 1918 and 1920.

By Good Friday, April 2, 1920, Sister Teresa’s condition worsens. Although three months remain in her novitiate, she is permitted to wear the habit and to profess vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She receives the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Sick. On April 10, 1920, she dies. Sister Teresa of Jesus is just nineteen years old.

Five decades later, Pope Paul VI approves the opening of an investigation into her life and sanctity. In 1987, Pope John Paul II beatifies her. In 1993, he canonizes her. Saint Teresa of the Andes is now venerated as a patron of teenagers and young adults; and as a patron of those seeking comfort and consolation in illness. Each year, more than 100,000 pilgrims pray before her relics at the shrine that bears her name in Los Andes, Chile.

From her diary, we read these words: “Seek God and you will have everything” and “Let this be your motto: “God ever before my eyes and I ever ready for sacrifice.” In life and for all eternity, Saint Teresa of the Andes is the perfect Carmelite. She is the perfect disciple. She offers herself to God for the sake of the world. She is indeed a saint for all seasons! Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Teresa of the Andes, pray for us!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brother Patrick Garvey is co-founder and spiritual director of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary, and the Catholic University of America. He is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as an Associate Minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts. On October 3, 2023, the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi, Brother Patrick was consecrated as a diocesan hermit by Bishop Mark O’Connell, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston. For more information about the Assisi Project and our ministries with adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Brother Patrick at brpatrick@assisiproject.com.

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ABOUT US

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. Please support our ministry via Pay Pal (see link below) or mail a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. The Assisi Project Podcast is produced by the Assisi Project, Inc. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. May God bless you! May the Lord give you peace!

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