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In about 1524 Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada and her older brother secretly left their home in Avila, Spain to travel, “begging bread for the love of God,” to travel to Muslim lands in North Africa to offer themselves for martyrdom. At a bridge leading out of the city their uncle met them and marched them back home.

Today we encounter the first Doctor of the Church to live in the modern era: St. John of Ávila (1499 or 1500-1569), who lived during the first half of the sixteenth century. He was born on January 6, 1499 [or 1500] in Almodóvar del Campo (Ciudad Real, in the Archdiocese of Toledo). He was the only son of devout Catholic parents: Alonso Ávila and Catalina Gijón. When John was fourteen, he went to the University of Salamanca to study law. John had a profound conversion during his fourth term of studies at the university. At the end of that term he returned home to devote himself to prayer and meditation.

Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) lived in a very troubled time in the history of the Church as well as in Italy and the whole of Europe. When I consider her impact on the times in which she lived, I am reminded that even in turbulent times the Lord brings forth saints who give a jolt to minds and hearts that often provoke conversion and renewal. This gives me hope for our contemporary situation.

In June 2010 the late Pope Benedict XVI devoted three Wednesday Angelus addresses on St. Thomas Aquinas. He recalls an observation from St. John Paul II: “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as master of thought and a model of right way to do theology” (Fides et Ratio, n. 43). Pope Benedict pointed out St. Thomas Aquinas is cited at least sixty-one times in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The only ecclesiastical writer who is cited more often is St. Augustine.

As we continue looking at the various Doctors of the Church, we are exploring the life and significance of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnorea (1217-1274). There is a family connection with this saint. When it came time for my Confirmation, my paternal grandfather John Coady Dillon, Sr., told me that his Confirmation name was Bonaventure. He took it after St. Bonaventure, but he also took it to honor his aunt, Sister M. Bonaventure Dillon, who was a member of the Sisters of Mercy in Brooklyn, New York.