A DAY OF FRATERNAL COMMUNION

On a day filled with joy and gratitude, we made a pilgrimage to the city where St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Jesus shown their passionate love and active faith during their most trying times. We arrived in Toledo to walk the streets and explore the corners that served as silent witnesses to those events.

St. Teresa arrived in Toledo to accompany the noblewoman Luisa de la Cerda, and later lived secluded in the monastery that became her prison, at the request of the Nuncio, who described her as “restless and wandering,” to remain there without moving. There, she also began writing “The Mansions,” a treatise on spiritual life and personal growth in God.

On the spot of the former Carmelite convent, next to the Tagus River, we could hear the same sound of the spring of water that St. John heard in the darkness of the prison. Father Gustavo Prats, who accompanied us throughout the day, handed us this “relic” of the saint.
During our pilgrimage, we admired the Primate Cathedral of Santa María, known for being rich in art and history. We explored the city’s cultural, historical, and religious treasures, including the monastery of “San Juan de los Reyes,” the palace of “Doña Luisa de la Cerda,” the synagogue of “Santa María la Blanca,” the “Puerta del Cambrón,” the fortress, El Greco’s house, the Church of the Jesuits, and the Toledo’s Jewish quarter. We also visited the church of the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, considered Santa Teresa’s fifth foundation.

We enjoyed the scenery, the conversations, and even the tiredness… We returned home delighted by this fraternal and cultural experience.