Saint Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor

St. John of the Cross OCD (Spanish: Juan de la Cruz; Latin: Ioannes a Cruce; né Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and Carmelite friar. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and he is one of the 38 Doctors of the Church. John of the Cross is known for his writings. He was mentored by and corresponded with the older Carmelite nun Teresa of Ávila. Both his poetry and his studies on the development of the soul, particularly his Noche Obscura, are considered the summit of mystical Christian literature and among the greatest works of all Spanish literature. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. In 1926, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI, and is also known as the "mystical doctor". He was born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez at Fontiveros, Old Castile, into a "New Christian" family of Converso origins (descendants of Iberian Jewish converts to Roman Catholicism) in Fontiveros, near Ávila, a town of around 2,000 people. His father, Gonzalo, was an accountant to richer relatives who were silk merchants. In 1529 Gonzalo married John's mother, Catalina, an orphan of humble origins; he was rejected by his family and forced to work with his wife as a weaver. John's father died in 1545, when John was around three years old. Two years later, John's older brother, Luis, died, probably from malnourishment due to the family's poverty. John's mother Catalina moved with John and his surviving brother Francisco, first to Arévalo in 1548, and then in 1551 to Medina del Campo, where she was able to find work. In Medina, John entered a school for 160 poor children, mostly orphans, to receive a basic education, mainly in Christian doctrine. They were given some food, clothing, and lodging. While there, he was chosen to serve as an altar boy at a nearby convent of Augustinian nuns. Growing up, John worked at a hospital and studied the humanities at a Jesuit school from 1559 to 1563.