I became acquainted with St. Teresa de los Andes a few years ago and it was love at first sight. I felt an immediate affinity towards this young saint. Perhaps my affection grew because she was a young Hispanic woman born in the Americas. Or maybe it was because of our mutual love for Therese of Lisieux. Whatever the reason I was happy that I had made a new Carmelite friend in Heaven.
St. Teresa was born Juana Fernandez Solar in Santiago, Chile on July 13, 1900. She entered the Carmelite monastery of “Los Andes” and was received as a novice on September 8. She took the name “Teresa de Jesus”. In the monastery she lived a happy life of prayer and sacrifice. Teresa contracted typhus soon after entering Carmel. In April 1920, she was allowed to make her religious profession. She died five days later in Holy Week on April 12, 1920, only three months before her 20th birthday.
Pope Saint John Paul II beatified Teresa in Santiago on on April 3, 1987. She was canonized in Rome on March 21, 1993. Each year more than 100,000 pilgrims visit her shrine in Los Andes (Chile).
You can learn more about this American saint here.
