Feast of St. Terese of Los Andes

The tomb of St. Teresa of Los Andes is located in Santiago, Chile. (Rodrigo Pizarro from Santia-go, Chile [CC BY-SA 2.0]/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Chilean St. Teresa de los Andes (1900-1920) is pictured in this photo form circa 1920. (Public Domain/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

April 12

Juana Enriqueta, or Juanita, as she was called, was born July 13, 1900 to a wealthy Chilean couple and had a happy and pious childhood.

During a bout of appendicitis, she believed Jesus told her to accept pain in memory of His sufferings.

At 15, she made a private vow of celibacy and began to consider religious life.

She joined the Carmelites in the Andes at 19, taking the name Teresa of Jesus and focusing on contemplative prayer. She caught typhus and died within a few days April 12, 1920.

She was canonized in 1993 as Chile’s first saint.

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