John joined the Carmelite order as a young man and, after meeting Teresa of Ávila, agreed to help her extend her reform of a stricter, more contemplative Carmelite life to the friars as well as the nuns. This reform provoked fierce resistance from members of the unreformed branch of the order, who had John kidnapped and imprisoned in a cramped cell in Toledo for nine months, where he was regularly beaten and humiliated.
During this imprisonment, John composed some of the greatest mystical poetry in the Spanish language, and he escaped by lowering himself from a window using knotted blankets. He went on to write extended theological commentaries on his own poems, including The Dark Night of the Soul and The Ascent of Mount Carmel, describing the soul's difficult passage through spiritual darkness toward union with God. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926.
Saint John of the Cross
Priest, Mystic, and Doctor of the Church
A Carmelite friar who partnered with Teresa of Ávila to reform the order, and who wrote enduring masterpieces of mystical poetry after enduring imprisonment and torture for that reform.
- Born
- 1542
- Died
- 1591
- Birthplace
- Fontiveros, Spain
- Died in
- Úbeda, Spain
- Country
- Spain
- Canonised
- 1726-12-27
- Century
- 16th century
Why People Pray to Saint John of the Cross
Saint John of the Cross is invoked by those experiencing spiritual dryness or darkness, and by anyone seeking a deeper interior life of prayer.
