Saint John of Avila –Image: Parroquias de Mara
(EWTN) Born in Spain Almodovar del Campo, John of Avila (San Juan de Avila) lived in the first half of the 16th century. John was the only son of wealthy, devout Christian parents.
When John was 14 yrs of age, he was sent to study law at the prestigious University of Salamanca but left his studies at the end of his 4th term following a profound experience of conversion, prompting him to return home to devote himself to meditation and prayer.
Set on becoming a Priest, in 1520 John left to study theology and humanities at the University of Alcala de Henares, which was open to the great currents of theology and humanities of the time.
In 1526 John was Ordained a Priest and celebrated his first Solemn Mass in his Parish Church. Intending to serve as a missionary to the West Indies, Fr. Avila determined to distribute his large inheritance to the needy. Subsequently, with the consent of the Bishop of Mexico Tlaxcala, Fr. Avila went to Spain Seville to await a ship to the new world.
Fr. Avila was imprisoned in 1531 as a result of a Homily that he delivered according to SQPN speaking boldly against the sins of the ruling class. While incarcerated, Fr. Avila began writing the first version of his work, thereafter these were to be the pillars of his spiritual life and central theses of his Homilies, subsequent to his release from prison–Fr. Avila became more popular than ever.
After traveling throughout Andalusia and other regions of Central & Eastern Spain in ministry and prayer, in 1554 already ill, Fr. Avila finally withdrew to a simple house in Spain Montilla, where he exercised his apostolate through an abundant of correspondence and his several writings.
The Archbishop of Granada wanted to take Fr. Avila as his theological expert to the final two sessions of the ‘Council of Trent’ but Fr. Avila’s ill health prevented him from traveling.
On the morning of the 10 May, 1569 after much suffering from his ill health, surrounded by his friends and followers, Fr. Avila surrendered his soul to the Lord while clinging to a Crucifix.
Fr. Avila was Beatified in 1894 by Pope Leo XIII and was Canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI
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