Saint John of Ávila
Priest and Doctor of the Church
- Feast Day
- May 10
- Life
- 1500–1569
- Canonized
- 1970
- Doctor of the Church
- 2012
- Born
- Almodóvar del Campo, Castile (modern Spain)
John of Ávila was born on 6 January 1500 at Almodóvar del Campo in Castile. After studies in law at Salamanca and in philosophy and theology at Alcalá, he was ordained a priest and, intending to sail as a missionary to the New World, was persuaded instead to remain and preach in Andalusia, where he laboured for nearly forty years.
Known as the 'Apostle of Andalusia,' he was one of the greatest preachers and spiritual directors of the Spanish Golden Age — a reformer of the clergy, a founder of schools and colleges, and the spiritual guide or correspondent of many holy people of his time, among them Teresa of Ávila, John of God, and Francis Borgia. His chief work, the spiritual treatise Audi, filia ('Listen, O daughter'), and his letters became classics of Catholic spirituality. He was for a time investigated by the Inquisition and fully acquitted.
He died at Montilla on 10 May 1569. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII, canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 October 2012. His feast is kept on 10 May.
Saint John of Ávila is honoured as a patron of the secular (diocesan) clergy and of Andalusia, and as one of the Church's great teachers of priestly holiness and the interior life. Declared a Doctor of the Church in 2012, his counsel on prayer, on the dignity of the priesthood, and on union with Christ continues to guide clergy and lay faithful alike.
Patronages
secular clergy · diocesan priests · Andalusia · Spanish clergy
Catholic Churches Named After Saint John of Ávila
20 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint John of Ávila's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- St. John the Evangelist — Green Bay, WI
- John Paul II Roman Catholic Center — Chicago, IL
- Basilica of St. John — Des Moines, IA
- St. John and Visitation Parish — Bronx, NY
- St. John the Baptist — Edgar, WI
- St.John Evangelist — Hilden, DELAWARE
- St. John the Evangelist — Independence, IA
- St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church — New Haven, CT
- St. John the Baptist — Detroit, MI
- St. John the Evangelist — Tubingen, Baden-Wurttemberg
- SS. John and Catherine — Mount Carroll, IL
- St. John Paul II — Santa Teresa, NM
- St. John the Evangelist — Gillett, WI
- St. John (deaf center chapel) — Eastpointe, MI
- St. Mary Parish (St. John XXIII Parish) — Evanston, IL
- St. John's Catholic Church — Wauneta, NE
- Sts. John and Elizabeth Catholic Church — Grayson, KY
- St. John the Baptist — New Orleans, LA
- St. John's Catholic Church — Onawa, IA
- St. John the Baptist — Bayonne, NJ
Sources