SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS
Also Known as:
Confessor and Doctor of the Church
Feast:
14 December, 24 November (General Roman Calendar, 1738-1969)
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Born:
June 24, 1542
Died:
December 14, 1591 (aged 49)
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Canonized:
December 1726, 27by Pope Benedict XIII
Patronage:
Contemplative life; contemplatives; mystical theology; mystics; Spanish poets
About Saint John of the Cross
John of the Cross was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile.
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Saint John of the Cross was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. He is also known for his writings. Both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature
Prayer
Saint John of the Cross, in the darkness of your worst moments, when you were alone and persecuted, you found God. Help me to have faith that God is there especially in the times when God seems absent and far away. Amen
