Mother Teresa,

I received your letter, and since the undertaking you are asking me to comment on is of such service to the Lord, I wanted to entrust it to my humble prayers and sacrifices. This has been the cause of my delay in responding to you.

Now I say, in the name of the Lord himself, be encouraged in such a great endeavor, for He will assist and favor you. On His behalf, I assure you that within 50 years, your order [the Discalced Carmelites] will be one of the most illustrious in the Church of God, which will preserve you, etc.

From Valencia,
Luis Beltrán

Saint Louis Bertrand

Note: In this 1561 letter to Saint Teresa, Saint Louis Bertrand offers his advice concerning the foundation of the first Carmelite monastery of the Discalced reform, the Carmel of St. Joseph in Avila. The following year, Louis Bertrand began a fruitful mission in the Americas and the Caribbean, while St. Teresa established her first reformed monastery in Avila. Louis Bertrand died at age 55 on 9 October 1581, one year before the passing of St. Teresa. The fulfillment of Louis’ prophecy concerning the growth of the Teresian Carmel within 50 years was submitted as proof of his sanctity during his cause for canonization. We are grateful to Father Ivan Mora Pernia, O.C.D. for providing the text of St. Louis Bertrand’s letter.

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Dominican photographer Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. captured this portrait of Saint Louis Bertrand, which is found in the Dominican Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. Image credit: Fr. Lawrence Lew O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

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