Standing at 13", this lovely statue of St. Teresa of Avila is a wonderful way to remember the life of the first female Doctor of the Church. Born March 28, 1515, St. Teresa lived a happy childhood. She is often remembered as running away from home at the age of seven with her brother to become a martyr. Luckily, her uncle found them before they could get lost. At the age of 20, she joined the "easy going" Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation. She started becoming interested in spiritual books and mortification. The saint started having raptures, sometimes involving levitation. She was embarrassed by them and asked her sisters to hold her down. During this time, St. Teresa started to realize how lax the convent was. In 1562, she started her own convent. The town of Avila was horrified that she was doing this; however, the Bishop and the Pope himself had given sanction to do it. The town slowly became happy about it. She was given the rights to start more convents like hers five years later. She died on October 15.
St. Teresa encountered so much physical pain in her life that she known for having asked Jesus why she suffered so much. He replied, "I allow my friends to suffer." She retorted, "No wonder you have such few friends." She is the patron saint of headaches. The church celebrates her feast day on October 15.