May 10 + Saint John of Avila

John was the Apostle of Andalusia and the spiritual advisor of Saints Teresa of Avila, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Borgia, John of the Cross, John of God, Peter of Alcantara, and others.

Born on January 6, 1499 in the Castile region of Spain, John was sent at the age of 14 to the University of Salamanca to study law. He later moved to Alcala, where he studied philosophy and theology before his ordination as a diocesan priest.

After John’s parents died and left him as their sole heir to a considerable fortune, he distributed his money to the poor. In 1527, he traveled to Seville, hoping to become a missionary in Mexico. The archbishop of that city persuaded him to stay and spread the faith in Andalusia. During nine years of work there, he developed a reputation as an engaging preacher, a perceptive spiritual director, and a wise confessor.

John drew great crowds with his fiery denunciations of evil and his many sermons. A brief imprisonment by the Inquisition in Seville made him even more popular. His missionary efforts were centered on Andalusia, and his letters and other writings have become Spanish classics.

John died in 1569, was beatified in 1894, canonized in 1970, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 2012.