Teresa of Ávila Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) was a Spanish nun who experienced mystical visions, reformed her religious order, and founded new convents, seeing them as answers to the spread of Protestantism elsewhere in Europe. In this wood carving from 1625, the Spanish artist Gregorio Fernandez shows Saint Teresa book in hand, actively teaching. The influence of her ideas and actions led the pope to give Teresa the title “Doctor of the Church” in 1970, the first woman to be so honored. (Gregorio Fernandez [1576–1636], Saint Teresa of Ávila, 1625. Polychromatic Baroque carving on wood, Valladolid, Spain. National Museum of Sculpture/© P. Rotger/Iberfoto/The Image Works)