Venerable St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet

Teresa Jornet Ibars, HAD (9 January 1843 – 26 August 1897), also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish religious sister who founded of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly. Ibars was the great-niece of Francisco Palau and a friend and confidante of Saturnino López Novoa. Her dedication to the old and ill was noted, and her sisters' work in Spain and later abroad. Her beatification was celebrated by Pope Pius XII on 27 April 1958 in Saint Peter's Basilica. Pope Paul VI canonized Ibars in 1974. Teresa Jornet Ibars was born on 9 January 1843 in a small town in Lleida to the farmers Francisco José Jornet and Antonieta Ibars. One of her sisters, Josefa, became a Vincentian in Havana. Her brother Juan had three daughters who later joined the congregation of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly. Ibars great-uncle was Francisco Palau. Ibars was baptized on 10 January 1843 and received confirmation in 1849. In her childhood, Ibars demonstrated a strong concern for the plight of the poor in her area, and she often took them to the home of her maternal aunt Rosa so that proper aid could be provided to them. She later moved elsewhere in Lleida to live with another aunt of hers and soon after, at the age of nineteen, began teaching at Argençola. As she felt called to the monastic life, Ibars applied for admission to the Poor Clares near Burgos in 1868. However, the anti-clerical laws at the time prevented her from embracing the religious life. So in 1870, she became a member of the Third Order of our Lady of Mount Carmel. Her father's death and a severe illness she contracted later confined her to her home for a prolonged period. Father Pedro Llacera introduced her to Saturnino López i Novoa, who became her spiritual director. He encouraged her to aid the old of the region who needed proper attention. On 11 October 1872, Ibars and her sister Maria moved to Barbastro with their friend Mercedes Calzada i Senan, and opened a house.