Blessed Anne of Jesus: a Carmelite nun with mystical gifts

Blessed Anne of Jesus, born in 1545, was a Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic. Following in the footsteps of Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross, who were friends with her and trusted her greatly, Anne of Jesus worked to organise the reform of the Carmelite Order in her own country, but also in other countries such as France - she founded the first convent of Discalced Carmelites in Paris. She died in Brussels on 4 March 1621, at the age of 75. Investigations for her beatification and canonisation began in the same year as her death.

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Les raisons d'y croire :

As Anne was born deaf and dumb, her mother faithfully prayed to the Virgin Mary for her cure, every day since she was born. Anne was healed suddenly and inexplicably at the age of seven. Her first words were "Ave Maria!"

Anne had a rare kind of spiritual and mystical life. She was a model Carmelite nun, and God graced her the exceptional gifts of ecstasy, prophecy, reading souls, and healing.

Anne was always very discreet about her mystical gifts. Because she travelled extensively (Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium...), there were meany witnesses to these extraordinary phenomena.

She was also a very pragmatic and balanced person. Therefore her charisms cannot be confused with the delusions of an unstable person. All her contemporaries bore witness to this, both in Spain and in the other places where she lived: she had a great intelligence, an excellent memory, common sense, a keen sense of communication, a joyful temperament, etc.

In their correspondence, Teresa of Avila and Anne of Jesus describe and reflect on the extraordinary graces that the Lord sent them respectively. Given what we know about their respective character, it is impossible for them to have concocted such a lie together.

Many people expressed their trust and esteem of Anne of Jesus. Saint Teresa of Avila entrusted her with the mission of extending the reform of Carmel, a task Anne fulfilled wonderfully. John of the Cross also had a great spiritual friendship with her, and provided spiritual accompaniment to her.

On 4 March 1621, a few hours after the death of Anne of Jesus, a Carmelite nun from Brussels named Sister Jeanne of the Holy Spirit, asked to be taken to Anne body. Sister Jeanne had been bedridden for more than two years, couldn't move her arms and legs, and was considered incurable. With the help of two nuns, she tried to sit up and kiss the body of the Blessed Virgin. The nuns around her thought she was fainting, but Sister Jeanne told them she felt perfectly well. In fact, she stood up and knelt down alone before the body of the Blessed Virgin. A few days before her death, Anne of Jesus, saddened by Jeanne's poor health, had told her she would intercede on her behalf once in heaven.

Synthèse :

Ana de Lobera Torres was born on 25 November 1545 in Medina del Campo (Spain). Her parents, of aristocratic descent, were quite poor, but peace and joy reigned in their home. The little girl was lovingly brought up in the Catholic faith, like her older brother, Cristobal.

However, Anne's life did not begin auspiciously: she was born deaf and dumb. A few months after her birth, her father died and her mother, Francesca, was left to bring up her two children alone. Francesca showed unparalleled courage. She prayed unceasingly, asking God to protect her children and in particular to heal Anne. Every day, the little girl watched her mother recite the rosary, accompanied her to Eucharistic adoration, and spent long periods looking at the holy images hanging on the walls of the house.

In 1552, shortly after her seventh birthday, a miracle occurred: Anne began to hear and speak for the first time. Her first words were "Ave Maria!" This cure, inexplicable in scientific terms, was attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

The next two years were a period of happiness for Anne and her family. Unfortunately, Francesca also left this world and the two children were entrusted to their maternal grandmother. It was at this time that the little girl intensified her relationship with the Virgin Mary, whose presence she could feel or see. At the age of ten, she wanted to be completely devoted to Jesus and promised to become a nun.

But her grandmother had other plans for her, including an advantageous marriage. In 1559, Anne, who had become an intelligent, beautiful and attractive young woman, resisted the pressure of those around her and one fine day left her grandmother's house in the company of her brother.

In the following weeks, Anne discovered a new obstacle to her contemplative vocation: this time, her paternal grandmother wanted to impose a husband on her! Taking advantage of a family reception for a cousin's ordination, she decided to make a statement. Dressed in a black sheet, her hair badly cut, Anne announced publicly that she was only interested in God and religion. She had won: everyone, including her suitor, understood that Anne was sincere. A few months later, she decided to enter a contemplative order, but she still didn't know which one was for her. She nevertheless prepared for her entry in the convent. Her brother Cristobal imitated her, joining the Society of Jesus.

This was the beginning of a period of intense spiritual and mystical life for Anne, while still living in the world. She led an ascetic life, illuminated by ever-growing charismatic gifts. During the day, she devoted herself to praying the offices and the rosary, and in the evening to helping the poor. Anne lived like this for seven years, obeying her spiritual director, Father Rodriguez, a Jesuit, and continually meditating on her plan for a consecrated life, which she entrusted to Jesus and Mary. Those around her gradually discovered the extent of her supernatural gifts. Her cousin, Maria de Cabreras, said: "She was gracious and cheerful; she always made me sing and have fun; she said that a sad spirit was not well-disposed to praise God".."

In 1569, she fell ill and almost died. This illness, as with Saint Ignatius of Loyola, acted as a trigger: her desire to serve God grew from it. Soon Father Rodriguez was appointed to Toledo (Spain). It was in Toledo that Saint Teresa of Avila had founded one of the first reformed Carmelites in Spain. Anne's confessor got to know Saint Teresa and wrote to his protégée: "I have met a holy woman here, who is founding monasteries of the order you are looking for. She is from Avila and is called Teresa de Ahumada. Ask God to give you the light to find out if this is where he is calling you. As far as I'm concerned, I think it is." On 26 July 1570, Anne set off for the Carmelite convent of St Joseph in Avila, where St Teresa was prioress.

Saint Teresa quickly realised the holiness of this young woman of twenty-five. This was the beginning of a long and deep spiritual friendship between the two women, who shared the same cell for a time. Anne of Jesus was very familiar with the written works of the Teresa, which had inspired her religious life. In 1586, the famous theologian Louis de Leon commissioned Anne to collect the saint's writings for publication, some of which she translated herself.

Anne of Jesus had many human qualities, some of them exceptional. Her contemporaries testified that she had a sense of organisation, hard work, diplomacy, psychological flexibility, a strong will, a first-rate religious culture, delicacy in social and personal relationships, respect for everyone, charity, devotion to the poor, and so on.

In the autumn of 1570, Anne was entrusted with her first responsibilities in the reform of the Spanish Carmelite convent: directing novices, material management and stewardship, to name a few. At the same time, Anne's interior life became deeper, and, the following year, art her solemn profession, Anne fell into ecstasy during the ceremony. Seeing this, Teresa ordered that, from then on, professions should be held in a private place, away from the public eye!

Teresa and Anne worked closely together, united by an unshakeable faith. In 1574, Teresa told Anne that she would now found the monasteries, with God's help. Anne was appointed prioress of the community of Beas (Spain). The two women exchanged a great deal of letters, in which they both described and analysed the extraordinary graces that the Lord was sending them.

In October 1578, another providential meeting took place in Beas, with the future Saint John of the Cross, who became the spiritual director of the local nuns. He too recognised Anne's spiritual and human gifts and knew that God was giving her mystical graces. Anne was soon privy to St John's literary projects, which she continued to help and later publish. With him, Anne founded the Carmelite convent in Granada (Spain, Andalusia). Imprisoned for a time by order of Doria, General of the Carmelites, she showed unfailing obedience to her superiors and to the secular clergy, like Saint John of the Cross when he faced similar circumstances.

In 1590, without ever having met him, she obtained a brief from Pope Sixtus V approving the Constitutions of the Reformed Carmelite Order written by Saint Teresa of Avila.

The following years were marked by a proliferation of monastery foundations: Paris (1604) where she worked alongside the future cardinal Pierre de Bérulle; Pontoise and Dijon (1605); Louvain and Mons (Belgium, 1607-1608); Brussels (1610), always with the greatest fidelity to the spirit of Saint Teresa, and without ever abandoning or cutting short her prayer and her assistance to all. Her work of reform was therefore gigantic. During her lifetime, she also inspired the foundation of a convent of Discalced Carmelites in Krakow (Poland, 1612), and another one in Antwerp (Belgium, 1619).

Shortly before her death on 4 March 1621, she expressed the wish to go and found a Reformed Carmelite convent in England.

The cause for the beatification of Sister Anne of Jesus began just a few weeks after her death: the related investigations were particularly long and rigorous: from 1621 to 1642, then from 1872 to 1904, before the final request to introduce the cause for beatification was made by the General Chapter of the Discalced Carmelites in 1991.

On 14 December 2023, Pope Francis recognised a miracle attributed to Anne of Jesus. Her beatification took place on Sunday 29 September 2024.

Patrick Sbalchiero

Au-delà des raisons d'y croire :

Blessed Anne of Jesus' work not only concerned the reform of Carmel, but also Catholic spirituality as a whole, in particular through her fruitful and learned participation in the publication of the writings of Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila.