Although she was born in a wealthy family, as a young woman, she entered the poorest monastery she could find. And she acquired heroic virtue before the age of 20. She was Juanita Fernandez Solar, also known as St. Teresa of the Andes.

Juanita was not born a saint. In her youth she was described as vain, stubborn, selfish, and competitive. But God gave her opportunities for growth—first through her family. She started attending daily Mass and making spiritual communions, and her brother taught her how to pray the Rosary. They each promised to pray it every day, and Juanita kept that promise to her death. “From that time on,” she wrote years later, “one can say that Our Lord took me by my hand with the most holy Virgin.” Our Lady was her “inseparable companion,” her “intimate confidante” for her entire life.

Later, when she learned that in Holy Communion she would receive Jesus’ Body and Blood, she wanted to be His worthy dwelling place. So she worked tirelessly to overcome her negative qualities. In this case, her tenacity paid off. Even her siblings noticed the transformation. “I prepared myself for one year,” she wrote. “During that time, the Virgin helped me to purify my heart from all imperfections.” When she finally made her First Holy Communion, she heard Jesus speak to her for the first time. Throughout the remainder of her life, every time she received Communion, she experienced God’s presence.

However, she also suffered greatly. Her health was always precarious. Throughout her youth, she’d frequently have attacks of diphtheria and appendicitis (for which she would eventually have surgery), yet she remained active, smiling, and compassionate.

In May 1919, she entered the Carmelite Monastery in Los Andes, which she was attracted to because of its poverty, and was given the name Teresa of Jesus. Her life of sacrifice increased, and she found even greater joy than before: “I am the happiest person on earth. I desire nothing more because my entire being has been seized by God, who is Love.”

Early in her life, Jesus revealed to her that she would die young. At the beginning of March 1920, she told the community’s confessor that she only had a month to live and asked for permission to increase her Lenten penances. He didn’t understand how she could know when she was going to die and recommended that she follow the Rule of life perfectly instead. She did—including the rigorous Lenten practices and fasting. A few weeks later, on Good Friday, she became critically ill. On her death bed, she received the last sacraments and made her final profession. She died from typhus on April 12, 1920, three months shy of her 20^th birthday.

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 1993. She is the first Chilean saint and is the patron of young people and the sick. The Carmelites celebrate her Feast Day on July 13.

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“Yes, Mary, you are Mother of the entire universe. … The rich as well as the poor can find in your heart their heaven. The afflicted as well as the happy can find on your mouth a celestial smile. The sick as well as the healthy can find caresses from your sweet hands. And, finally, sinners like myself find in you a protecting Mother who can crush beneath her Immaculate feet the head of the dragon. And in your eyes I see mercy, pardon, and a shining lamp to keep me from falling into the muddy waters of sin.”  ~ St. Teresa of the Andes

Banner and Inset:
Philippus2011, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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Second Inset:
Rodrigo Pizarro from Santiago, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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