John of Ávila
Montilla, Córdoba, Spain | |
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Feast | 10 May |
Patronage | Andalusia, Spain Spanish secular clergy |
Influenced | Teresa of Ávila, John of God, Francis Borgia, Louis of Granada |
Part of a series on |
Christian mysticism |
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John of Ávila (
Life
Early years
He was born in Almodóvar del Campo, in the modern-day Province of Ciudad Real, to Alfonso de Ávila, of Jewish converso descent, and Catalina Xixón (or Gijón), a wealthy and pious couple.[2][3][4] At the age of fourteen, in 1513, he was sent to the University of Salamanca to study law; he withdrew in 1517, however, without receiving a degree.[5]
Returning home, Ávila spent the next three years in the practice of austere piety. His sanctity impressed a
Both his parents died while Ávila was still a student, and after his
John seems to have lived in the initial years after 1526 in a small house in Seville with another priest, probably Contreras, and disciples gathered around him, in a loosely structured fraternal life. It was at the request of the younger sister of one of these disciples, Sancha Carrillo, that he began in 1527 to write the Audi, filia (Listen, Daughter), a work he continued expanding and editing until his death.[5]
Apostle of Andalusia
John's first sermon was preached on 22 July 1529, and immediately established his reputation. During his nine years of missionary work in Andalusia, crowds packed the churches at all his sermons. However, his strong pleas for reform and his denunciation of the behaviour of the aristocracy meant that he was denounced to the office of the Inquisition in Seville in 1531, and put in prison in the summer of 1532. He was charged with exaggerating the dangers of wealth and with closing the gates of heaven to the rich. The charges were refuted and he was declared innocent and released in July 1533.[6]
Around the end of 1534 or the beginning of 1535, John of Ávila was
Of special importance was the
Ávila stayed in Granada from 1538–9, where it appears some kind of community was taking shape. Likewise, during the years 1546 to 1555, John lived with about 20 disciples in Córdoba, making it seem that he intended to begin some kind of formal foundation of apostolic priests. However, the foundation and fast expansion of the
Death
From early 1551 Ávila was in constant ill-health. He spent the last years of his life in semi-retirement in the town of
Works
The Spanish critical edition of 1970 presents Ávila's work in 6 volumes. These consist of two redactions he made of the Audi, filia, 82 sermons and spiritual conferences, a few Biblical commentaries, 257 letters (representing the period from 1538 until his death), several treatises on reform and other minor treatises. John wrote letters to prelates who consulted him, such as Pedro Guerrero,
Modern editions
Saint John of Ávila's works were collected at Madrid in 1618, 1757, 1792 and 1805; a French translation by D'Andilly was published at Paris in 1673; and a German translation by Schermer in six volumes was issued at Regensburg between 1856 and 1881.[citation needed]
The Audi, filia was translated into English in 1620.[11] A modern translation was published by the American scholar Joan Frances Gormley in 2006.[citation needed]
A selection of his letters, entitled Spiritual Letters, were translated into English in 1631, a facsimile edition of which was printed in 1970.[12]
Influence
Ávila's saintly reputation, as well as his efforts to reform the clergy, to establish schools and colleges, and to catechise the laity, were the inspiration for many later reformers. He is especially revered by the
There is a church in Alcalá de Henares dedicated to him: St. John of Ávila Parish Church.[13] The school Colegio Maestro Ávila in Salamanca is named after him.[14]
Veneration
Ávila was declared Venerable by Pope Clement XIII on 8 February 1759. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 15 November 1894, and the cause for his canonization was opened on 14 March 1952.[15] On 31 May 1970 he was canonized by Pope Paul VI.
According to the
The
Works
English translations
- John of Avila, Audi, filia = Listen, O daughter, translated and introduced by Joan Frances Gormley; foreword by Francisco Javier Martínez Fernández, (New York: Paulist Press, 2006)
Spanish editions
- San Juan de Avila, Obras completas: Nueva edición crítica, vols 1–2, ed L Sala Balust and Francisco Martín Hernández, (Madrid: BAC, 2000-1) [the new critical edition of John's works]
- San Juan de Avila, Obras completas, vols 1–6, ed L Sala Balust and Francisco Martín Hernández, (Madrid: BAC, 1970)
- El Maestro Avila: Actas del Congreso Internacional, (Madrid: Conferencia Episcopal Española, 2000)
- Fray Luís de Granada, Vida del padre maestro Juan de Avila y las partes que ha de tener un predicador del evangelio, (Madrid: Edibesa, 2000)
References
- Luis de Granada, give 1500 as the date of Avila's birth. The date 1499 is based on the records of the Inquisition. See Obras Completas (2000), vol. 1, pp. 15–22 for more information.
- ^ Wilke 2003, p. 963
- ^ Note that Ávila is simply John's family name – not his place of origin.
- ^ Domínguez Ortiz 1992
- ^ )
- ^ a b c d Wilke 2003, p. 964
- ^ Introducción Histórica Archived 26 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Universidad de Jaén, 26 September 2005. Accessed online 2010-02-05.
- ^ José Biedma, Juan de Ávila y la Universidad de Baeza, cibernous.com. Accessed online 5 February 2010.
- )
- ^ Wikimapia "Iglesia de la Encarnación (Santuario de San Juan de Ávila) (in Spanish)
- ^ Juan de Ávila, The Audi filia, or, A Rich Cabinet Full of Spiritual Jewels, trans. Toby Matthews (1620). Reprinted in English Recusant Literature 1558–1640, vol. 49 (Menston: Scolar Press, 1970).
- ^ Juan de Ávila, Certain selected spirituall epistles, 1631, English recusant literature, 1558–1640, vol. 331 (Ilkley, UK: Scolar Press, 1977).
- ^ "Parroquia San Juan de Ávila". Parroquia San Juan de Ávila (in Spanish). 2 December 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Colegio Maestro Ávila - S Juan de Ávila". www.maestroavila.com. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953. p. 114.
- ^ Vatican Radio (7 October 2012). "Pope : Two new Doctors of the Church". NEWS.VA. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Pope Declares Spanish Saint a Doctor of the Church". Latin American Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ Pope opens synod on new evangelization, declares 2 new doctors of the Church
- ^ Pope Benedict XVI (7 October 2012). "Apostolic Letter: Proclaiming Saint John of Avila, diocesan priest, a Doctor of the Universal Church". Holy See (in English and Latin). Archived from the original on 21 July 2015.
- ^ "DECREE on the Inscription of the Celebrations of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, Saint John De Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church and Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar (25 January 2021)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Bl. John of Avila". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Further reading
- Rady Roldán-Figueroa, The Ascetic Spirituality of Juan de Ávila (1499–1569), (Brill, 2010)
- St. John of Ávila (1904). Letters of Blessed John of Avila. Stanbrook Abbey: Burns & Oates Ltd.
- Wilke, J. C. (2003). "John of Avila, St.". In Catholic University of America (ed.). ISBN 0-7876-4004-2.
- Domínguez Ortiz, Antonio (1992). Los judeoconversos en la España moderna (in Spanish) (2. ed.). Madrid: Mapfre. ISBN 978-84-7100-353-9.
External links
- Media related to John of Ávila at Wikimedia Commons
- John of Ávila in the Historical Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University