John of the Cross (1542-1591) · CatalogJohn of the CrossJohn of the Cross (1542-1591) · CatalogSpanish Carmelite friar, poet and mystic, co-founder of the Discalced Carmelites.Author
John of the Cross
1542-1591 · Spanish Carmelite friar, poet and mystic, co-founder of the Discalced Carmelites
Short biography: John of the Cross in Great Lives
About John of the Cross
John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes, 1542–1591) was born at Fontiveros in Castile to a poor family and worked in a hospital while studying with the Jesuits. He entered the Carmelite order in 1563 and studied at Salamanca. In 1567 he met Teresa of Ávila and joined her reform, which became the Discalced Carmelites, serving as a confessor and teacher. In December 1577 friars opposed to the reform imprisoned him in a tiny cell in their Toledo priory, where he composed much of his Spiritual Canticle; he escaped in August 1578. He later held offices in Andalusia, fell out of favour within the order, and died at Úbeda. He was canonized in 1726 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1926.
On this site
The Dark Night of the SoulJohn of the Cross
c. 1584–1585 · Renaissance Early Modern · Religious Scripture
The Dark Night of the Soul is a prose commentary by the Spanish Carmelite friar John of the Cross on his own poem of eight stanzas beginning 'En una noche oscura' ('On a dark night'). The poem, probably written after his escape from imprisonment in Toledo in 1578, describes a soul slipping out of its quiet house at night, guided only by the light burning in its heart, to meet the Beloved.