Bl Anne of St Bartholomew - Virgin of our Order

Who was Anne of St. Bartholomew?
A brief biography

Anne was born in a little town in central Spain called Almendral in 1549. She had three brothers and three sisters. When she was ten, she lost both her parents in a plague that spread across Spain. She had an extraordinary spiritual life from an early age and her visions and revelations continued throughout her life. As a teenager she had a vision where the Virgin told her she would become a nun. She worked as a shepherdess, and when her family tried to arrange a marriage, she declined and despite their opposition, Anne entered the first of St. Teresa's new monasteries - St. Joseph's in Avila - in 1570, at the age of 21. She was a lay-sister, and was very hard working. She often had no time for prayer during the day, so she devoted time to prayer during the night. She did not know how to write until she entered Carmel where she learned from St Teresa herself.

In 1577, Teresa chose Anne as her personal assistant, nurse and secretary and during the next 5 years Anne was her inseparable companion, travelling with her and assisting in the last four foundations. All of Teresa's letters in the last few years of her life were dictated to Anne. Teresa died in Anne's arms in 1582 at the monastery in Alba de Tormes.

In 1604, Anne was among the group of nuns chosen to accompany Ana de Jesus on the expedition to France, where she was forced to take the black veil as a choir nun against her will. She assisted in the foundation of several French convents and served as prioress at Pontoise, Paris and Tours. She suffered very much during this time because of the excessive control of French male superiors. After her time in France, she then went on to the Netherlands where she founded the convent at Antwerp in 1612. She remained there until her death on June 7th in 1626.

Soon after her death, miracles were attributed to her intercession and it is claimed that by 1632 over 150 miracles had been approved. She proved herself, like St. Teresa, a daughter of the Church in her great zeal for souls. In 1735 Pope Clement XII declared the heroicity of her virtues and she was beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1917. Her writings include a number of letters still preserved, an autobiography and several treatises on spiritual matters.

Quotes of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew

"It is not because I am good that our Lord granted me these favors, but that His goodness might be made manifest. Although I was so unworthy of grace, this Adorable Master sought me out that even when I was least occupied with the thought of Him, in order that I might not be lost, and that His kindness might cause admiration."
"Our Lord became a spring for us, so that we should not die of thirst among all the miseries that surround us."		“Silence is precious; by keeping silence and knowing how to listen to God, the soul grows in wisdom and God teaches it what it cannot learn from men.”
"I will say here, for the glory of our Lord, that He always gave me consolations when I did good to my neighbor, when the occasion presented itself, and when I aided them in their need. I inconvenienced myself, it is true, on these occasions, but I found instead of an inconvenience it was a real consolation. It is to the good Master I owe it, and it has remained so with me until this day. May His holy Name be blessed!”

Blessed Anne's message for the 21st Century