Saint John of the Cross

Priest and Doctor of the Church
(1542–1591)

Saint John of the Cross was born on June 24, 1542, at Fontiveros near Avila in Spain, the son of a silk weaver who had been disinherited by his family for marrying beneath his station. His father died of poverty when John was very young, and his mother raised her children in great hardship, moving several times in search of work. John attended the College for the Poor at Medina del Campo, where his intelligence attracted the attention of a wealthy patron who employed him in a hospital for the sick poor while paying for his education.

He entered the Carmelite Order in 1563 and studied theology at Salamanca, where he met Saint Teresa of Avila in 1567. She immediately recognised his gifts and persuaded him to join her reform, promising him that he would not have to wait long before he could practise a stricter life. He became the first friar of the Discalced Carmelite Reform and worked with Teresa in establishing the new foundation at Duruelo.

In 1577 he was seized by the Calced Carmelites, who opposed the reform, and imprisoned in the Carmelite priory at Toledo in a tiny, lightless cell. During nine months of imprisonment, during which he was subjected to repeated physical punishment, he composed in his head the great mystical poem known as the Spiritual Canticle, which is universally regarded as one of the masterpieces of Spanish lyric poetry and one of the supreme expressions of mystical experience in any language.

After his escape he spent the rest of his life writing, governing Carmelite houses, and pursuing the mystical union with God that his poetry described. His four great mystical works, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, The Spiritual Canticle, and The Living Flame of Love, constitute the most systematic and profound treatment of the mystical life in the Catholic tradition. He died on December 14, 1591. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926. His feast is celebrated on December 14th.