Your Sacred Heart
House System
Ávila House
Named after Saint Teresa of Ávila.
Saint Teresa was born in 1515. She was also known as Teresa of Jesus due to her close affinity with Christ, having seen him in many visions. She joined the religious Order of the Carmelite nuns and became troubled by the severe lack of discipline in the Order.
Overcoming bitter opposition from her superiors, she succeeded in establishing the first community of reformed Carmelite nuns. Although harassed at every step by powerful and hostile church officials, she helped establish sixteen Carmelite communities for women and fourteen for men. As a gifted organiser, Teresa was endowed with common sense, tact, intelligence, courage and humour.
She purified religious life in Spain and was canonised in 1622. She was the first woman to be made a doctor of the church in 1970.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the earth; yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.