Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada was born in the Castilian city of Avila during the year 1515, When Teresa was 14, her mother died, causing the girl a profound grief that prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother. She was sent to be educated in a convent of Augustinian nuns, but Illness forced her to leave the convent during her second year. She joined the Carmelite Order at the age off 20, but soon developed a serious illness that forced her to return home. She experienced severe pain and physical paralysis for two years, and was expected to die when she went into a coma for four days. But she insisted on returning to the Carmelite monastery as soon as she was able, even though she remained in a painful and debilitated state. As her health returned, however, Teresa lapsed into a more routine prayer life. When she was nearly 40, she experienced profound changes within her own soul, and remarkable visions that seemed to come from God. Under the direction of her confessors, Teresa wrote about some of these experiences in an autobiography that she completed in 1565. She founded what is known today as the Order of Discalced Carmelites – “discalced,” meaning barefoot, symbolizing the simplicity to which they chose to return the order after a period of corruption. The reform met with fierce opposition, but resulted in the founding of 30 monasteries during her life. Teresa’s health failed her for the last time while she was traveling through Salamanca in 1582. She accepted her dramatic final illness as God’s chosen means of calling her into his presence forever.