St. John of Avila

St. John of Avila was born in 1499 or 1500 at Almodóvar del Campo in Spain and died on 10 May 1569 at Montilla. Ordained a priest and intending to go as a missionary to the New World, he was instead kept in Andalusia, where for nearly forty years he preached with such power and holiness that he became known as the Apostle of Andalusia, drawing vast crowds and countless souls to conversion and to a deeper Christian life.

A man of profound prayer and learning, he was a spiritual guide to a remarkable company of saints and reformers, among them St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of God, St. Francis Borgia, and St. Peter of Alcántara, and his letters and spiritual writings, especially his treatise Audi, filia, became classics of Christian doctrine. Though he suffered trial and even a period of imprisonment under suspicion before being fully vindicated, he bore all with patience. Canonized in 1970 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 2012, he is honored with a memorial on 10 May.