IBÁÑEZ, PEDRO. - Spanish Dominican theologian, born in Calahorra perhaps at the beginning of the 16th century, died in the convent of S. Maria di Trianos, of which he was prior, on 2 Feb. 1565.
A student at the convent of S. Stefano in Salamanca, where he professed on 5 Apr. 1540, he taught theology at S. Paolo in Valladolid and at S. Tommaso in Avila. Here he met St Teresa of Jesus, to whom he owes his particular fame, for he was her preferred confessor and spiritual director, who most influenced her spiritual formation during the period when
she was anxiously considering the reform of the Carmel and encountered strong and unforeseen opposition from all sides. Ibáñez not only approved her bold and contested plan, but also assisted the Saint and supported her with his advice, both in Spain and at Rome, until he obtained the papal Brief for the foundation of the first convent of the Discalced Carmelites at S. Giuseppe in Avila. He assisted the Saint also in drafting the internal regulations of that house; and in 1562 he ordered her to write a first autobiography, which was later lost, and the history of the foundations. Ibáñez left the *Trattato del discernimento de los espíritus* on the extraordinary life of his penance, in which he demonstrates great and profound experience in mystical matters. St Teresa held him in high esteem as a learned and holy man, and in her autobiography writes that she saw his soul ascend immediately to heaven.