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The saints

St John of Avila

He was waiting for a ship to the New World. The Archbishop of Seville kept him home.

Feast: 10 May · 1499 or 1500 to 1569 · Andalusia, Spain

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Inside the Basilica of St John of Avila at Montilla: white walls, rows of pews and a gilded altarpiece.

Tyk, 2025. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Home / The saints / St John of Avila

Seville, early 16th century

A young Spanish priest is in Seville, waiting for a ship to the New World.1

A celebrated catechist, impressed by his preaching, persuades the Archbishop of Seville to keep him in Andalusia.1

Mexico lost a missionary. Spain gained the preacher whom saints would come to for advice.

01St John of Avila

Prison and the pen

In 1531, because of a misunderstanding about a homily, he was imprisoned.1

In prison he began writing the first version of his work Audi, Filia.1

St Teresa of Jesus underwent great trials before she was able to send him the manuscript of her autobiography.1

02St John of Avila

Montilla

He died in his humble home at Montilla on 10 May 1569, clinging to a crucifix.1

Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 2012.1

Inside the Basilica of St John of Avila at Montilla: white walls, rows of pews and a gilded altarpiece.
The Basilica of St John of Avila at Montilla, where he is buried. Tyk, 2025. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Notes

  1. Pope Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter proclaiming St John of Avila a Doctor of the Church, 7 October 2012. Holy See, official English text. vatican.va

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: Douay-Rheims, Challoner revision (public domain). Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an error.