St. John of Ávila (about 1500–1569) was a Spanish diocesan priest, the great preacher of southern Spain called the “Apostle of Andalusia,” a spiritual director of saints, and a founder of schools and colleges to form good priests. He guided St. Teresa of Ávila, converted St. John of God with a single sermon, and counseled St. Francis Borgia and St. Peter of Alcántara. Imprisoned for a year by the Inquisition on false charges, he wrote his spiritual masterpiece in his cell. He is the patron of the diocesan clergy of Spain, and Pope Benedict XVI declared him a Doctor of the Church in 2012. His feast day is May 10. Below are his story, a passage from his letters, and a prayer to St. John of Ávila.
A short prayer to St. John of Ávila, written for this page:
St. John of Ávila, you preached Christ crucified and led many souls to holiness.
Pray for priests, for preachers and spiritual directors,
and help me to trust that God loves me not for my merits, but for His goodness. Amen.
Who was St. John of Ávila?
Juan de Ávila was born around 1500 at Almodóvar del Campo, in central Spain, the only son of a wealthy family of Jewish descent. After studying law at Salamanca, he turned to God, studied theology at Alcalá and was ordained a priest around 1526. He gave his inheritance to the poor and planned to go as a missionary to Mexico, but the archbishop of Seville asked him to stay and preach in Andalusia, in the south of Spain, which he did for the rest of his life.
His fiery preaching filled churches and changed lives. In 1537, after hearing him preach in Granada, a bookseller named Juan Ciudad gave away everything and became St. John of God, founder of the Brothers Hospitallers. Falsely accused, John spent about a year in the prison of the Inquisition in Seville, where he began his book Audi, filia (“Listen, daughter”) on the spiritual life, and he was fully cleared. He founded schools, colleges and the University of Baeza, worked for the reform and education of the clergy, and wrote letters of direction to people in every state of life; St. Teresa of Ávila sent him the account of her life for his judgment. In his last years he suffered constant illness, and he died at Montilla on May 10, 1569. He was canonized in 1970 and declared a Doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012.
“God loves you as you are”
From one of his letters to a soul troubled by her faults (Letter XIV):
How long will you continue your minute self-examinations? It is like raking up a dust heap from which nothing can come but rubbish and unpleasantness. Feel sure of this, that it is not for your own merits, but for those of Jesus crucified, that you are loved and made whole. Do not give way to such discouragement about your faults, the results will show you how displeasing it is to God. It would be far better to be courageous and strong-hearted. Meditate on the benefits you have received through Jesus Christ in the past and possess now; reflect on them in such a manner as to lead you to sorrow for your sins against Him and to avoid offending Him, without losing your peace and patience if you happen to fall. As I have often repeated, God loves you as you are. Be content that His love should come from His goodness, and not from your merits. What does it matter to a bride if she is not beautiful, if the bridegroom’s affection for her makes her seem so in his eyes? If you look only on yourself, you will loathe yourself and your many defects will take away all your courage.
What is St. John of Ávila the patron saint of?
- The diocesan (secular) priests of Spain, named by Pope Pius XII in 1946
- Preachers and spiritual directors
- Andalusia
Feast day
The optional memorial of St. John of Ávila, priest and Doctor of the Church, is May 10, the day of his death. In 2021 Pope Francis inscribed it in the General Roman Calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Who was St. John of Ávila?
A sixteenth-century Spanish priest and preacher, spiritual director of saints, and Doctor of the Church since 2012.
Is St. John of Ávila the same as St. Teresa of Ávila?
No. They are two different saints who lived at the same time; John was not from the city of Ávila, and Teresa sought his advice.
When is his feast day?
May 10.
More saints
- Doctors of the Church
- St. Teresa of Ávila prayer
- St. John of the Cross
- Prayer for priests
- St. Ignatius of Loyola prayer
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Letters of Blessed John of Avila, Letter XIV, translated and selected from the Spanish by the Benedictines of Stanbrook Abbey (1904), public domain (archive.org).