Also known as:
German: Johannes von Ávila;
John of Ávila;
Latin: Johannes de Avila
ÁVILA, Juan de, Blessed. - B. at Almodóvar del Campo (Spain) in 1499 or 1500 and d. at Montilla (province of Córdoba) on 10 May 1659. He was a spiritual master, a great preacher and a promoter of the Catholic restoration.
After completing his studies at Salamanca and at Alcalá, here under Domingo de Soto, he wished to go to the missions of America. But the archbishop of Seville, Hernando de Contreras, kept him in his diocese. The preaching of the bl. Ávila was denounced to the Inquisition, which in 1533 issued a sentence of acquittal. From Seville he passed to Cordoba and then to Granada, where in 1537 he collaborated with the archbishop Gaspare Avalos in the organization of the university. There the bl. Ávila gathered the majority of his disciples, secular priests of austere life dedicated to popular missions, to spiritual direction and to the teaching of youth in the various colleges founded by him in Andalusia. The principal one was the University of Baeza, begun in 1538. This "priestly school" of the bl. Ávila had great resemblance to the Society of Jesus, which he greatly favored. Many saints enjoyed the friendship and spiritual direction of the bl. Ávila, among whom were St. John of God, St. Francis Borgia and St. Teresa of Jesus. He was beatified by Leo XIII on 6 Apr. 1894.
The masterpiece of the bl. Ávila is the treatise on the Audi Filia, a jewel of Spanish mystical literature. Other writings are the epistolary, the sermons on the Eucharist, on the Holy Spirit and on Our Lady, the exhortations to priests. He also wrote memoranda of ecclesiastical reform for the Council of Trent.
Bibliography4 worksShortly, the biography and the edition of the works of the bl. Ávila, edited by Luigi Sala, will begin to appear in Madrid. Ancient ed. of t
BIBL.: Shortly, the biography and the edition of the works of the bl. Ávila, edited by Luigi Sala, will begin to appear in Madrid. Ancient ed. of the works. Madrid 1588, reprinted often up to 1941. Ancient biography by the disciple p. Luis de Granada, Madrid 1588. For newly discovered works and some studies v. Archivo Teol. Granadino, 4 (1941); Miscellanea Comillas, III, V, VII (1940-47); Maureta, 17 (1945), pp. 351-88; and the specialized review Maestro Ávila, 1946 ff., published at Montilla.
Luigi Sala Balust. “Ávila, juan de, beato.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II, coll. 550–551. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949. https://azioneromana.com/article/avila-juan-de-beato.
MLA
Luigi Sala Balust. “Ávila, juan de, beato.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949, coll. 550–551. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/avila-juan-de-beato.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec2_avila_juan_de_beato,
author = {Luigi Sala Balust},
title = {Ávila, juan de, beato},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {II},
pages = {550--551},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1949},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/avila-juan-de-beato}
}
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