Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay - The Miraculous Patroness of Talisay City, Cebu

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Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay
In the historic city of Talisay, located in the province of Cebu, where it is knows as one of the historic guerrilla posts during the Second World War, it also in thie city that its natural tourist spots, like the Lagundi Reef, Igotan Cave, and Crocolandia are also located.

The city's historic Church is also known as the lone shrine is dedicated to one of the great Reformers of Counter Reformation and one of the pioneering women Doctor of the Church, La Santa Madre Santa Teresa de Avila. St. Teresa of Avila's bravery became an inspiration to the people of Talisay City, including a future saint, that she became an integral role model and patroness of the city.

The image

The venerable image of St. Teresa of Avila is one of the oldest in the province of Cebu. The image is a de vestir image where she is vested with an ornate version of her Carmelite Habit with some embroidery and beadwork. The image is holding her traditional attributed, a quill pen, a book alluding her works and the academic biretta to emphasize her title as Doctor of the Chruch which was given by the University of Salamance years after her death and centuries before the Church declaration in 1970.

St. Teresa of Avila
The Life of La Santa Madre

Teresa was born in 1515 in Ávila. She proved at an early age that she was an intelligent and thoughtful person. Teresa and her brother, Rodrigo, didn’t play the same games that the other children played. Instead, they preferred to go to the garden and read. They were most interested in reading the Bible and the stories of the lives of the saints.

When she was 16, Teresa was sent to a convent to live to keep her away from her family members who slowly becoming a bad influence to her life, and at 21 she decided to become a nun. She enjoyed her life there and began to realize that she had been given a special gift. She was able to see heavenly visions. She chronicled these visions in her writing. One such vision which is known as her transverberation where an angel appeared to Teresa bearing a long golden spear. The angel was smiling and gentle so he did not frighten Teresa. The angel thrust the spear into Teresa’s heart. Instead of feeling pain, Teresa felt safe and at peace. The spear was not really a spear, but the love of God. When the vision passed, Teresa felt very close to God. The evidence of the transverberation was proven when they found an wound in her incorrup heart that can still be seen and venerated today.

The Transverberation of St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa did many great things. She knew how to pray and many people wanted to learn from her. She wrote books to help them, which became classics of Spanish literature from her autiobiographt, "The Way of  Perfection" and her opus "Interior Castle". She founded a number of convents whose focus was a simple life of prayer. Other religious orders, even her own, opposed her and made her life difficult but eventually her ideas spread through Spain and into other parts of Europe. She became known as the foundress of the order known as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites.

She died in 1582 at the age of 67 and was canonized in 1622. In 1970, she, together with the famed Dominican tertiary and mystic St. Catherine of Siena, were named a Doctor of the Church - the first women in Church history. St. Teresa's feast is celebrated every October 15 and the Carmelites keep a special feast of her transverberation every August 26.

Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay
The devotion in Cebu

The devotion to the great La Santa Madre in Talisay City began in 1836 when Rev. Fr. Juan Soriano, a native of Avila, Spain was assigned in Taliay City. On his voyage, he brought with him the image of St. Teresa of Avila since it is said that he is a great devotee of their town's great saint and reformer. When the parish of Talisay was constructed, he immeidately placed it under the patronage of St. Teresa of Avila. The image that Fr. Juan Soriano brought from Avila can still be seen and venerated up to this day and it is currently enthroned in the main altar, together with the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa, or the "Birhen sa Kalipay."

The devotion developed over the years and shaped the faith of the people of Talisay that centuries later, the future Servant of God Archbishop Teofilo Camomot founded the Daughters of St. Teresa, a Pontifical Congregation for women in Valladolid, Carcar City, Cebu inspired by the Sta. Teresa de Avila when he was assigned to this parish and learned the Carmelite Spirituality,

The Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Teresa of Avila, Talisay City, Cebu
The construction of the Parish of Sta. Teresa de Avila began on August 16, 1836 and it was completed twelve years later. But, its roof was destroyed by a typhoon in 1877. In 1880, another church was built in 1880 and was finished a year later. Similar to many churches on the island, the Sta. Teresa de Avila Parish Church was made using coral stones.

A convent once stood beside the church, but it was destroyed during World War 2 after the Americans bombed the place to flush out any Japanese soldiers hiding in the area. Fortunately, the facade including the two side chapels of which one might be the baptistry were spared and the parish was late rebuilt years later. The ancient parish was elevated as an Archdiocesan Shrine by the late Archbiship +Ricardo Cardinal Vidal on October 15, 2007, the feast of St. Teresa of Avila - so far the only shrine in the Philippines dedicated to St. Teresa of Avila.

The devotion at present
The fluvial procession in honor of Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay


The devotion to Sta. Teresa deAvila developed and strengthened through the centuries. Numerous miracles were attributed to her intercession. The celebration of her feast begins when the month of October begins with a "Walk with St. Teresa" or a solemn procession, then a fluvial procession during one of the novena days, the celebation of the feast of "Birhen sa Kalipay" on the eve St. Teresa's feast and a grand procession on her feast day, October 15. Pilgrims would flock her shrine on a regular basis to seek help of their miraculous patroness.

The life of St. Teresa of Avila is one of the boldest and brave in the history of the Catholic Church for it takes a woman to initiate and influence change for the sake of following God's will that contributed to the Counter Reformation and still makes an impact up to this day. Her life inspired millions of the faithful and converted those who lsot their way, like in the case of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), St. Teresa de los Andes among others.

As we end this blogpost dedicated to one of the greatest saints of all time, here is the famed lines from her breviary which sums up the life and lessons of La Santa Madre which also doubles as piece of inspiration as we continue in this life's journey:

Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing make you afraid.
All things are passing.
God alone never changes.
Patience gains all things.
If you have God you will want for nothing.
God alone suffices.

Reference:

Kavanaugh, Kieran, "The Collected Works of St Teresa of Avia, Vol.1" Washington: ICS Publications, Washington, USA, 1991.
Miller, Lucy Urgello, "Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era". University of San Carlos Press, 2010.
"Visiting The Sta. Teresa de Avila Parish Church In Talisay City," Retrieved from http://www.peanutbrowas.com/blog/visiting-the-sta-teresa-de-avila-parish-church-in-talisay-city on August 5, 2019.

Credits to the owners of the photographs that were utilized for this blogpost.
+AM+DG+

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