Saint John of the Cross

Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), born Juan de Yepes Alvarez and also called San Juan de la Cruz, was a major figure of the Catholic Reformation, a Spanish mystic, and a Carmelite friar and priest. He was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. 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....See more

Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), born Juan de Yepes Alvarez and also called San Juan de la Cruz, was a major figure of the Catholic Reformation, a Spanish mystic, and a Carmelite friar and priest. He was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. 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. He was canonized as a saint in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. See less