Carmelite QuotesQuote of the day, 7 August: Albert and Teresa
Multiple credible witnesses attest to St. Teresa of Avila’s deep devotion to St. Albert of Trapani (Sicily). In his biography of Teresa, Father Francisco de Ribera notes that her list of especially beloved saints begins with “Our Father Saint Albert”—and he’s careful to clarify this isn’t Saint Albert of Jerusalem, who wrote the Carmelite Rule, but Saint Albert of Sicily.
Teresa’s autobiography offers clues about why she held St. Albert in such reverence. In Chapter 40, no. 13 of The Book of Her Life, she describes a prophetic vision:
Once while I was praying near the Blessed Sacrament, a saint appeared to me whose order was somewhat fallen. He held in his hands a great book. He opened it and told me to read some large and very legible letters. This is what they said: IN THE TIME TO COME THIS ORDER WILL FLOURISH; IT WILL HAVE MANY MARTYRS.
She continues in no. 15:
I sometimes saw this glorious saint, and he told me a few things and thanked me for praying for his order, and promised to recommend me to the Lord. I’m not naming the orders (if the Lord were pleased that they be known, He would declare them), lest others be offended.
The Carmelite Order has always maintained—and Teresa later confirmed, though she initially kept his identity anonymous—that this saint was indeed Saint Albert.
An even more striking episode appears in Father Yanguas’ testimony at Teresa’s canonization process.
He recounts that on St. Albert’s feast day, 7 August 1574, Teresa was staying at the Segovia foundation. After hearing her confession and giving her communion that morning, Father Yanguas spoke with her. She told him that both the Lord and Saint Albert had just conversed with her.
When she’d asked for guidance about the future of the Carmelite Reform, Saint Albert told her the Discalced Carmelites should establish their own independent hierarchy, separate from the Mitigated branch. This episode likely inspired Teresa to commission the work Life and Miracles of Saint Albert.
Father Tomás Álvarez, OCD, explored this remarkable publishing venture in Monte Carmelo review (1993) with the telling title: “An Editorial Enterprise of Saint Teresa: The Life and Miracles of Saint Albert (1582)”. He traces how Teresa’s personal devotion drove this project.
Teresa was determined to spread devotion to the Sicilian Carmelite saint whom she venerated as father and advocate. She even commissioned the Dominican Father Diego de Yanguas to write a booklet titled The Life and Miracles of St. Albert for her nuns. The plan was to publish it alongside The Way of Perfection.
While the complete volume appeared in Lisbon in February 1583, the section on St. Albert is dated 1582—leading Father Álvarez to wonder whether Teresa might have had a printed copy before her death.
Discalced Carmelite Friars Commissariat of Sicily
St. Teresa of Jesus: Great Devotee of St. Albert of Sicily
Note: Teresian scholar Tomás Álvarez, OCD, indicates that in the testimony of Father Diego de Yanguas, OP, at St. Teresa’s canonization process, he deliberately withheld certain details of what St. Albert told Teresa “for good reasons” (por buenos respetos no las declara). The Dominican professor maintained close spiritual ties with Teresa, meeting with her again on August 24, 1578, likely when he completed his revision of St. Albert’s biography. Teresa’s deliberate anonymity about the saint’s identity in her autobiography was standard practice—she consistently concealed names of persons and places throughout her Life, as Father Álvarez documents in his scholarly analysis.
Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Álvarez, T 1993, ‘Una empresa editorial de Santa Teresa: «La vida y milagros de San Alberto» (1582)’, Monte Carmelo, vol. 101, no. 2, pp. 11-12.
Discalced Carmelite Friars of Sicily 2024, ‘Santa Teresa di Gesù grande devota di S. Alberto di Sicilia’, Sant’Alberto da Trapani, Carmelitani Scalzi di Sicilia, viewed 5 August 2025, https://www.carmelodisicilia.it/santi-carmelitani/santalberto-da-trapani/.
Translation from the Italian text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Featured image: This portrait of St. Albert of Trapani was executed by painter Antonio de Pereda (Spanish, 1611–1678) in oil on canvas, ca. 1670. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
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