Once Theresa established a new monastery, John took on the name ‘Saint John of the Cross’ and remained in the monastery, which eventually grew into a larger one, till 1572. In 1572, upon the request of Theresa, he travelled to Avila to be her confessor and spiritual guide. While there, he had a vision of Christ and made a drawing that remains to this day called, "Christ from Above." The little drawing shows Christ on the cross, looking down on him from above. The image has been preserved for centuries.

Born as Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, in Fontiveros, Avila, Spain in 1542, Saint John’s life was a heroic effort to live up to his name: “of the Cross.” Employed as an accountant by a wealthy family, his father was disowned for marrying a poor woman from the lower class. Johns’ family was thrown into poverty and suffered greatly. His Father passed way when he was three, his elder brother, Luis two years later due to malnutrition. His mother found a weaving job to feed her family.

In a boarding school for the poor and orphaned, John found the religious path at a very young age. He served as an acolyte in an Augustinian monastery. However, went to work in a hospital later, even while attending a Jesuit school.

He joined the Carmelite Order in 1563, taking the name, "John of St. Matthias." Having made his vows the following year, he was sent to the university in Salamanca to study theology and philosophy. Being an expert in the Bible, he translated the Song of Songs into Spanish.

John became a priest in 1567. He was attracted by the simple and quiet life led by the monks in the Carthusian Order and wanted to join them. After the encounter with Theresa of Avila, a charismatic Carmelite nun, he followed her and was attracted by her devotion, prayer and simplicity.

Once Theresa established a new monastery, John took on the name ‘Saint John of the Cross’ and remained in the monastery, which eventually grew into a larger one, till 1572. In 1572, upon the request of Theresa, he travelled to Avila to be her confessor and spiritual guide. While there, he had a vision of Christ and made a drawing that remains to this day called, "Christ from Above." The little drawing shows Christ on the cross, looking down on him from above. The image has been preserved for centuries.

'Christ from Above' drawn by Saint John of the Cross

Only near the end of his life had St. John's monastic superior recognized his wisdom and holiness. Though his reputation had suffered unjustly for years, this situation reversed soon after his death. He was beatified in 1675, canonized in 1726, and named a Doctor of the Church in the 20th century by Pope Pius XI. In a letter marking the 400th anniversary of St. John's death, Pope John Paul II – who had written a doctoral thesis on the saint's writings – recommended the study of the Spanish mystic, whom he called a “master in the faith and witness to the living God.”

St. John of the Cross died in the early hours of Dec. 14, 1591, nine years after St. Teresa of Avila's death in October 1582. Suspicion, mistreatment, and humiliation had characterized much of his time in religious life, but these trials are understood as having brought him closer to God by breaking his dependence on the things of this world. Accordingly, his writings stress the need to love God above all things – being held back by nothing, and likewise holding nothing back.

Only near the end of his life had St. John's monastic superior recognized his wisdom and holiness. Though his reputation had suffered unjustly for years, this situation reversed soon after his death. He was beatified in 1675, canonized in 1726, and named a Doctor of the Church in the 20th century by Pope Pius XI. In a letter marking the 400th anniversary of St. John's death, Pope John Paul II – who had written a doctoral thesis on the saint's writings – recommended the study of the Spanish mystic, whom he called a “master in the faith and witness to the living God.”

Other Saints of the Day

1. Saint Agnellus of Naples
2. Arsenius, Dioscurus, Heron and Isidore – Martyrs of Alexandria
3. Saint Jucundus of Rheims
4. Saint Justus of Spain
5. Saint Folcuino of Therouanne

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