"Castile, the mid-sixteenth century." "Valdes, the head of the Holy Office, is filling the dungeons in search of the Devil." "The glory of the Conquest fills the tables of those in power with gold while the people live in poverty and ignorance." "Heretics offer their naked bodies to the Lord in orgiastic liturgies." "Illuminati, heretics, Lutherans, Huguenots..." "Our church is attacked from without... and grows dark within." "Bodies are burned in the squares to save souls." "All hearts are governed by fear." "All... but one." "I am Yours, for You created me." "Yours, for You redeemed me." "Yours, for You suffered for me." "Yours, for You called me." "Yours, for You preserved me." "Yours, for I was not lost." "What would You have me do?" "Lady Teresa insists on seeing you, Master Daza." "She will not leave your office till you have heard her." "The poor fool." "These are bad times for our church." "The last thing we need is another dose of confusion." "No, no, Lady Teresa, this must end." " Can't you see the danger you're in?" " The danger," "Master Daza, is drawing away from Him." "Please, do not take God's name in vain." " Who do you think you are?" " Who am I?" "His wife." "I beg you, cease this madness." " All love is madness." " Can't you see that this could be a thing of the Devil?" "It is not the Devil." "The Devil does not grant such sweet love." "My Lord is God." "My husband, the Almighty." "So proud thinking you've reached Him when the rest of us" " seek in the dark?" " I have found the way." "As others have before me." "He is here, in these very books." "In St Augustine..." "In Osuna..." "In Adolphus of Saxony." "Certain words are poison to certain ears." "I'm sure you're right, Master Daza." "I am a woman and despicable." "But what I half understand, I feel totally and nothing deceives my soul." "There is an interior castle, here." "That is madness." "No more madness than abandoning life to devote the heart to seeking Him." "There's no better reason than love." "Love itself that without realizing I sought from the beginning." "Love which led me astray and finally saved me." "If it's true you're dishonored, then this family's honor is lost." "I did not say it was." "Not saying it wasn't is the same." "And little does that matter." "In affairs of honor, one rumor is enough." "Thank God your mother is not here to see this." "No man can love you now." "I know of one." "Lauds at cockcrow, lunch before the Angelus, common tasks... sewing or tending the garden, supper, then compline." "The sisters' refectory." "The ladies eat in their rooms." "You'll be comfortable here." " I do not need so much." " Save your humility for greater trials, for they will come." "I believe in God." "In a God who calls me yet whom I do not hear." "I tremble just thinking of Him." "And I want to see His face so close to mine that nothing can separate us." "I have... such an urgent need that my breath fails me." "I am alone." "Patience, daughter." "You're yet a child." "No, Father." "I am a grown woman... and ready to be taken." " I'll take that, madam." " Let it go." "I do not need a maid." "But I need a mistress." "What's that?" "I know you're a lady with a dowry, a daughter of the Ahumadas, and good." "And I am in need." "We're all equals here." "No, not here." "That's upstairs." "Go." "Let me do my duties." "The kitchen's no place for a lady." "She is in love with you." "Every time you come, her face lights up." "She speaks of nothing else and cannot wait to see you." "Skinflint." " What are you doing?" " Nothing." "There's no worse nun than a procuress." "Yes, there is." "A hungry nun with cold feet." "If Your love for me," "O Lord, is like mine for You," "then tell me why do I hesitate?" "And you... why do you delay?" ""Soul, what do you want of me?"" ""My Lord, only to see You!"" ""And what do you fear the most?"" ""My greatest fear is losing You."" "A soul gathered to God... what more could it desire than to love and love more, and, burning in that love, love You again?" "I remain alone." "Why such haste?" " The Lord takes the time He needs." " I am afraid." "Afraid of what?" "Afraid that my faith is no more than pride." "Afraid of what I see, of what I do not see." "Afraid of what I feel." "Afraid of reaching Him." "And of not reaching Him." "Afraid of myself." "Eat." "She won't." "She's been thus for days." "It seems the body of Christ suffices her." "Then she'd be better in her cell." "She comes to the refectory to parade her renunciation." "Eat!" "No." "What the Lord provides suffices me." "The Lord gives this, too." "Eat." "Hardly yet a nun but she wants to be a saint..." " Enough, for God's sake." " The Lord does not want me," "Juana." "I am alone." "And alone I must stay." "Till I'm worthy of Him." "You can't go on." "You're killing yourself." "The worm dies, too, and that death's not the end, but the beginning." "May my joy be in suffering, my rest in unrest," "my peace in pain, my well-being in affliction," "my love amid troubles, my reward in the wound." "May my life be in death and my favor in contempt," "my wealth in poverty, my triumph in struggle, my rest in labor amd my happiness in sadness," "in the darkness my light, my greatness in lowliness, of my path the short cut, and my glory the cross." "She is feverish and greatly so, and her heart probably ails." "She's suffered too much chastisement." "She only prays and works." "So much mortification is too much." "She seems to seek death." " Salcedo, saintly gentlemen." " God!" "May I?" "You may and must." " Can she hear me?" " Probably." "But she does not always answer." "She's weak." "Your father sends me to ask after your health." "It pains me to find you so." " What's been done?" " What could be done." "Let all be done." "It is dizziness, no more." "I shall soon be well." "My troubled soul walls and faints." "Who from their love could be absent?" "Let it end, let this suffering end." "Yearning to see You" "I wish only to die." "The girl's not for burying!" "She's not for burying!" "She's not for burying!" "Leave me." "Out of here!" "There's no way." "The poor man's lost all reason." "He has such love for the girl?" "It's 3 days." "Something must be done." "The lay sisters are here." "Lady Guiomar, I'm pleased to see you." "They say you hide a saint here." "Nothing's hidden here." "Please, come with me." "Tell me only where to find her." "I need no vigilance." "Go with her." "I'm Guiomar de Ulloa." "I know." "You are always in my prayers." "There is no greater benefactress here." "I'd do more if I could, but my income is limited and our needs great." "I wished ardently to meet you." "Your fame grows daily." "To my regret." "As it should be." "I've no wish to tire you." "I wanted to see for myself the miracle the world talks of." "I'm glad to see you're well." "It's no miracle." "I commended myself into the hands of St. Joseph." "Those are good hands." "No man ever equalled him." "Believe me, I have known a few." "I wanted to offer you my friendship." "You'll find my door always open." "My heartfelt thanks." "I hear that the wisest in matters of faith who visit Avila" " gather at your house." " That's right." "Francis Borgia and even Peter of Alcantara." "Father Peter's an old friend of mine." "He gives me some of the scarce time he devotes to things of the world." "There's no more saintly man in Castile." "There is not." "We look out for the interests of the church." "Be assured that when I am able, I shall visit your house." "She is better and walking now." "Teresa." " Thank you for your invitation." " I'm glad to see you better." "Maria de Mendoza, the Bishop of Avila's sister." "Mari Diaz, a dear and old friend." "They praise you so highly I thought you in heaven." "There's time yet for heaven with so much to do here below." "Excuse me." "Father Francis Borjia..." "Lady Teresa de Ahumada." "...of the Society ofJesus." "Just returned from Rome." "It is a great honor." "I'm a devotee of Father Inigo de Loyola." "I did not know you were here." "For the school of St. Giles, with the help of the good Salcedo." "We're all good friends here." "And Maria de Cazalla." "They say she's an Alumbrado." "I think reformation would do us more good than the Holy Office." "Only by showing rigor can we expect rigor." "They attack us." "The Inquisition, the Lutherans and the Huguenots." "Reformation's the best defense." "We are what we are and being what we are, shall be more." "I agree, but some accuse us of wishing to go backwards." "It is not going backwards, but remembering where we came from." "And knowing where we are going." "To burn their books is not to burn their reasons." "Burning Erasmians is not to burn their cause." " Fire does not extinguish fire." " Dear friend, we come to Avila to gather a flock." "I think we've found a good lamb." "I've been seeking a shepherd." "My soul's tribulations find small relief here." ""Commentary on the Lord's Prayer" by Erasmus." "In Spanish." "May God bless you." "He has her." "The Lord has her in His arms." "The Lord possesses her!" "Take me, too, Lord." "The uproar she causes here has me concerned." "Many now think it is a miracle." "Her fame has spread beyond Avila." "Miracle or not, it is the favors of the Lord, and misdirected favors can burn rather than shape." "Keep her within this house." "I would if I could but her company is greatly in demand." "A convent so in need as this cannot refuse favors." "It's important to assign her a guide." "One who'll report to us." "A confessor who'll tell us what she thinks." "Her confessor is a Dominican." "She asks for learned confessors and her thirst for knowledge is great." "Too great for a woman." "If she had a learned confessor, who better than..." "Gaspar Daza?" "Who better?" "I want no conflict with Dominicans." "There won't be any if she asks for you." "Let her make general confession." " Then we'll know where we stand." " It's not in my hands." "It will be." "You did well to call me." "We are all alarmed." "I want general confession." "You must be very patient if you are to hear it all." "I've always time for a soul." "I know you walk a difficult path." "I've heard of visions." " Nothing is secret here." " Nor should it be." "Secrets are of the Devil." "You speak true, for you are a saint." "And yet I feel ashamed, for I know little of such mercies." "Speak." "We shall do what God tells us." "And let it be between us and the Lord." "What is there about that nun to concern the Provincial of Avila?" "She is steeped in prayer." "I've seen few women so far gone." "And she is in great anguish." " Arrogance?" " Anguish." "But I think there is no sin, at least not in her mind." "She has much doubt, and with reason." "And she is virtuous." "Look carefully at virtue, for her father, though generous, is a new Christian and her grandfather went in procession with the scorned Jews in Toledo." "I did not know she was a Jew." "Her blood's not too clean." "A convert or not, we should be concerned with her trances and visions." "I did not know about the visions." " She has them?" " Indeed." "From Christ on the cross and... voices calling her and..." "The stuff of heretics." "But asking for confession isn't." "Heretics are beyond instruction, given up to the flesh..." "I don't think that is the case." "She asked for general confession." "Oh, Gaspar Daza!" "Your good faith moves me." "But I knew nothing of your devotion to Illuminist nuns." "I did not say she was that." "Women have much imagination and little organization." "Alumbrados, witches, Illuminists..." "All one and the same." "Christ may have saved one whore, but the rest still roam free." "It's too early for such a judgment, though it's not my place to contradict you." "No, it's not." "No, no, Lady Teresa, this must end." " Can't you see the danger you're in?" " The danger, Master Daza," " is drawing away from him." " Please, do not take God's name in vain." "Who do you think you are?" "Who am I?" "His wife." "Of my love for Him I never had any doubt." "Of His love for me" " now no longer." " You are in great danger." "What you've just said won't save you." "Say no more." " I have no reason to be ashamed." " Ashamed or not, you'll have much to regret." "Don Francis Borgia." "Master Daza," "Lady Teresa." "Don Francis, I do not know if your presence in this matter is advisable." "Lady Teresa's soul is confused." "Whose soul isn't confused, Teresa?" "Don't forget we walk on very thin ice." "Step back, then." "Lest your weight sink us." "Let the Jesuits take charge." "Francis Borjia, who is besotted with her." "The Jesuits want a hand in everything." "Let them take a hand in this." " What do we gain through them?" " Time." "To prepare the trial." " Don't mention them." " Not the Inquisition." "If we try her, we avoid them." "I don't like this business." "They won't take to exclusion." "They're not excluded." "They want her, too." "There's no alternative." "If we wish to save her... and ourselves." "It's started." "So I've heard." "I have been in Valladolid." "Alumbrados and heretics carrying forbidden books, fornicating like animals." "It is the work of the Devil." "The next to fall will be the Bishop of Toledo." "It cannot be." "Not even Valdes would dare so far." "Carranza took away his bishopric and the Inquisitor General never forgives." "He will fall and to dissemble so will many more." "Alumbrados all and Lutherans." "There's a list that includes Toledo," "Seville and Salamanca." "They'll look here as well." " No Alumbrados in Avila." " There will be." "Your nun, Teresa, will be a fine trophy from this hunt." "Without those books I am alone." "There are other sacred books." "Sacred and in Latin, whose words we women are not taught to read." "Walls around knowledge to exclude us." "Walls can be leapt." "From the stake none return." "Stop now or they'll stop you." "I'm saying more than I should." "Teresa!" "The fires are lit." "The women go first." "May God have mercy on them." "I am afraid." "Salcedo can no longer stop them." "I saw them come..." "With a Dominican." "You!" "Get back to work!" "Teresa, come with me." "Speak softly and do not look them in the eye or they'll think you proud." "Say little but say it clearly for men think we women get muddled when we speak and in that always see the Devil." "Were you uglier, it would be much easier, for in these matters desire also plays a part, and always to our detriment." "No, you cannot." "What awaits me?" "I do not know." "What do I deserve?" "I'm not judging you." "I'm charged only with the convent." "If I must deliver you to save it, then I will." "Though unwillingly." "Let's not keep them waiting." "Teresa!" "Show no arrogance." "But be valiant." "Do not be afraid." "They're all God-fearing men and here to help you." "You must uncover your face." "There's nothing to hide." "Nor any way to hide." "Who tells you it is God?" "He Himself." "How do you know that's so?" "Why would God lie to me?" "You say He takes your hands?" "He takes my hands and puts them in His wounds, seeking consolation." "Alumbrado stuff!" "And the trances?" "So intense they raise me a palm's breadth from the ground... and such pain runs through me, yet so sweetly, I would never have it cease." "It is like a burning lance-point painlessly tearing my flesh, and going deep inside me to pierce my very heart." "I see the Inquisition coming." "The Holy Office is here." "And thus it wounds me." "So deep that when the lance is withdrawn my life seems to go with it." "It is such severe pleasure, such sweet and extreme pain, that its ending shocks me" "and only God can fill my soul." "Blasphemy." "It is heresy, not blasphemy, that should worry us." "Possessed." "Of the Devil!" "Of the Devil, no!" "But absorbed by God whom, loving so much, I have made my prisoner." "Devil!" "Devil?" "Devil?" "Why say the Devil's name when you could say God's?" "Are you afraid of nothing?" "I am afraid and greatly." "But I fear those who fear the Devil more than the Devil himself." "It is G od!" "It is G od!" "It is G od!" "Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you." "Everything passes." "God does not change, patience achieves all." "He who has God lacks nothing." "God alone suffices." "The report is clear." "It is the presence of the Devil." "Either we purge you now, or there will be an exorcism and then trial by the Inquisition." "Thumb your nose at the visions." "Tell them to be gone!" "Spit at them!" "Spit!" "Why would I spit at the Almighty?" "It is not God but the Devil." "Stop it now before it takes hold of you completely." "We do not need more martyrs, Teresa." "We need hardy soldiers." "Arise now or you'll fall forever." "How fear changes men." "Listen." "What matters now is avoiding the stake." "If we do not come through this purge, there'll be a trial." "For God's sake!" "If it is the Devil, and all coincide in that it is, out with him now, before it costs you your life." "Come for me, Satan!" "I am the Lord's slave, you won't take me!" "Come for me!" "Come for me!" "For me!" "For me!" "Where is she?" "Lady Guiomar, I'm glad to see you." "Where is she?" "I don't think you know how delicate her situation is." "I don't think you know how delicate yours is." "Have the coach taken to the garden gate." " What do you intend to do?" " Take her away." " Without my leave?" " With your leave, which has been well paid for." "To Father Peter of Alcantara without delay." "You ask me for advice, Salcedo, but it's every man for himself now." "If she's an Alumbrado, we'll give her to the Holy Office and so show our good faith." "They've been advised." "They'll soon come for her, though I don't know if she deserves it." "They've declared the Bishop of Toledo a heretic." "We'll not all fall" " for one mad nun." " It is not only her." "Nonsense, neither the Jesuits nor Francis Borjia nor even Rossi could save her." "Do not underestimate Rossi, he has the Pope's ear." "Then there's Lady Guiomar, though your sister will have told you that." "Peter of Alcantara," " the saintly man." " I agree." "If the saintly man stands by her, condemning her could cost us dear." "Father Peter!" "Come now, we are all one and the same." "Only before God should we kneel." "Lady Teresa de Ahumada." "When can I speak to him?" "When he wishes it." "It is like a great castle and all is dark" "with but one light which dazzles" "in the King's quarters." "I see the light come." "Sometimes it bathes my hands" "but when I look around, all I see is shadow." "I am afraid." " How could you not be afraid?" " I have sinned." " Sinned so much." " Let me tell you a secret." "We have all sinned." "And shall continue to do so." "Until the last day." "Not all is our fault." "That is how He made us." "You're on the right track, Teresa." "But that guide you seek outside is within you." "That light you pursue holds the Lord." "They are your steps, Teresa." "You must take them on your own." "Follow your path and leave the rest in my hands." "Stop, stop!" "There's still much to do." "Lady Guiomar, pen and paper, please." "Most illustrious... and reverend..." "lord..." "Bishop... of Avila... may God grant you sainthood..." "We'll scare those crows away." "She's back inside." "Don't be so sure." "Unnecessary..." "Unnecessary..." "Unnecessary..." "It's all unnecessary." "Yet nothing is enough." "What will you do with that?" "Hang it from a beam." "In my own house." "A small convent, of no more than 15 nuns." "Following the Carmelite Primitive Rule." "Enclosure, instruction, prayer and a vow of poverty." "With no endowment?" "Where there's endowment there's danger, rank and worldliness." "Back into the lion's den?" "I'll go where He leads me." "Everything has a reason." "My suffering till now and what's to come... are not of my choosing." "Nothing frightens me more than not doing what I must." "There are paths, lodgings." "Look." "Look around you well." "You'll see there are not." "As naked as these was Christ on the cross, clothed only in wounds." "Teresa..." "Think well." "This will be no journey of recreation." "Whither you go..." "I go far." "I'll go with you." "The convent we always dreamed of." "Of purity and strict enclosure." "No mistresses or maids, no past, no lineage, no well-dressed nuns, where all are one and equal." " Where all are one?" " Yes, Juana." "The Lord knows nothing of men or women, of lords and servants." "For His army all men and women are good lances." "We'll finish at the stake." "No." "The Lord will not leave us on our own." "A small convent, ours, true to the old rule." "Enclosure, poverty for all, with no endowment." "A convent of discalced nuns, all one and equal before God, and through Him we shall have neither too little nor too much." "Poverty's no trouble, I know all about that." "But enclosure?" "For us the prison is the outside world and freedom is the cell." " Let's go then." " There's much to do..." "Our hands are strong." "...and even greater troubles." " We're used to those." "I know not if I ask too much." "I myself am not sure if we can succeed." "We can." "And if we can't, we shall." "I'll put 100 ducats." "My whole dowry." "I, the land and what I can for the building." "I, almost 80 maravedis." "But you have nothing." "What I have or have not is my business." "I'll put the rest." "Shall we go?" "Let's go." "Let God's will be done." "Nothing special but it's cheap, and with what little we have..." "It is much." "And it is ours." "It will serve." " And the maintenance?" " They have something." " Lady Guiomar." " Who else?" "Lady Guiomar will purchase the house, and the land is hers." "They are acting in great secrecy..." "or so they think." "And endowment?" "They seek a dispensation from Rome." "A convent without endowment, cloistered, following the old rule." "The old rule." "That blessed reformation!" "We're going backwards." "One never knows..." "Whose side are you on?" " I look out for my convent." " So I see." "Better to have the problem distant." "Especially when the election for prioress is due." "I did not say that." "That small convent would be an affront at the doors to mine." "But it's true the nun is a problem, and with her under Father Peter's wing, I cannot touch her." "You're right, she's a problem." "Outside or in, she's still my problem." "You're lucky." "I have to look out for the whole province." "No, this cannot be." " What right has she?" " It's not a question of right, but power." "Power!" "For this, Peter of Alcantara will need more than that!" "The Society ofJesus is with her." "Francis Borjia is arranging the papal brief of foundation." "With Father Peter's recommendation." "The saintly father's arm is long." "The Society ofJesus think the world is theirs." "No, under no circumstances." "This must be stopped." "Two days ago bound for the stake and now a founder?" "Have we all gone mad?" "The letters are on the way to Rome." "Rome is very far away." "It won't be so easy." "Not against the Provincial of Avila." "I shit on the Society ofJesus!" "Doesn't she see what's coming?" "I'm at your service, and abashed..." "There's no need." "We're all afraid." "What do you want?" "You have our support." " Who?" " You know who." "I know little." "When things go wrong, I find myself alone." "No, not this time." "I said I hold no rancor." " Can I hold you to that promise?" " You can." "We shall stand by you." "We?" "I will." "I'm afraid, friend Salcedo, there's always been a problem of distance." "You're either too far away or too near." "The deeds are not in her name but in her brothers'." "The land is Lady Guiomar's." "The purchase is legally valid." "And yet it's clear that" " there's deception." " And therefore greater danger." "A convent without endowment!" "Do we want that for our daughters?" "Avila already has convents, nuns and even more priests than it needs." "Who does this nun think she is?" "I'll tell you what she isn't." "She's no saint." "The reply from Rome!" "Approval!" "Without endowment." "Little by little, Teresa." "He does not want it thus." "Patience is not a virtue He lacks." "Patience?" "The enemies of the faith have none, so why should I?" "With no endowment." "Vow of poverty and enclosure." "And discalced." "It's all or nothing." "Send this back to Rome." "Sometimes you frighten me." "Sometimes I frighten myself." "They refused me communion." "We're together in that." "Together in everything." " Are you afraid?" " I am." "So am I." "Do you doubt?" "Didn't Christ our Lord doubt?" "But it did not stop Him." " I'll go see the Bishop." " That's not prudent." "Prudent?" "I care little for prudence now." "I'll walk to Rome if I have to." "Lady Teresa, Lady Teresa." "What is it now?" ""Teresa", Your Grace." "No more "Lady", it's about that, too." "So much fuss over one small convent." "It is not I who thwarts your intentions but the Council." "It does not depend on them." "To a large extent, it does." "It's all a question of harmony." "The Provincial..." "The Provincial should not move the Bishop of Avila's hand." "Take care, Teresa." "I respect your intelligence." "Please don't scorn mine." "I don't mean to scorn your intelligence, nor your reasons." "But there are greater reasons." "And other ways." "I do not see them." "But they exist and are ways that offend no one." "Elections are to be held at the convent." "I know you have the devotion of many nuns." "You would remain in the same convent, but as prioress." "We would avoid suspicion and you'd have the power to do the things you want." "I don't want to be prioress there." "I want a new convent under the old rule." "What I want does not require power." "Rather it requires renunciation." "It's all to do with power, Lady Teresa, you know that." "Without it you wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't be listening to your demands." "You shake the foundations while we hold up the roof." "Go on like this" " and the house will fall." " It's already half in ruins." "The worst thing is that your arrogance is accompanied by sound reasons." "Why is it that faith is so often similar to madness?" "Faith is not madness." "Madness is fear of having no faith." "What are you writing?" "Affairs of mine." "The Bishop told me to put it all in writing should proof of my good faith be needed." "You were always a literary person." "Though no man would read a woman's writings, except to use against her." "Tread carefully." "News from Rome?" "Not yet." "It'll come, and soon." "You know more than I." "I know nothing." "It's intuition." "Isn't that a gift we have?" "What is it you want?" "What I want is not possible." "I want to be like you." "No..." "I want to be you." "Me?" "I've often thought I deserved it." "I've given my life to this house." "I've raised 100 women who've waited just as I have waited." "I also say His name." "Again and again." "But He's never said mine." "He calls us all." "No." "Not in the same way." "I'd like to believe in you, Teresa, but we're only women and God knows this world's not ours." "Sometimes I see you ending at the stake." "For Him I'd die a thousand deaths." "Careful, you have but one life." "I'll do what I have to do." "But there'll be no convent without Rome's approval." "Rome's approval is even now in the Provincial's office." "And this very morning the Bishop granted the license." "I thought it was all intuition." "Intuition is being sure about things before others know of them." "This is only the beginning." "You have powerful people with you but also against you." "But without the Provincial's signature, for sure there'll be a trial." "I'll pray for you, Teresa." "I was never your enemy." "I never took you for such." "But I'll stand against your house." "I still have to fight for the little I am and have." "Something tells me your prayers will go farther." "God willing." "Why you?" "Not even I understand that." "Only your signature." "They won't have it." "It'll be done anyhow." "And there'll be a trial." "The Council is at it." "The Bishop will support her." "But his sister has him by the..." "Please." "All Avila knows." "It is a coven of witches." "Tell Peter of Alcantara that." "The old man's dying." "Don't count on that." "What if, in the end, I should waver when the time comes?" "You won't." "Good luck." "The prioress sent you?" "No." "I sent myself... as a friend." "What do you know?" "It's over, Teresa." "Nothing can be done." "It cannot be over if it hasn't begun." "The Provincial hasn't signed." "There's to be a trial." " The Council does not want it." " And yet it must be done." " They'll demolish the house." " We'll build another." " They'll demolish that, too." " Then another." "Till there's one they can't destroy." "The convent of St. Joseph survived a legal process lasting over 2 years." "Teresa Ahumada founded 12 more convents." "She was canonized in 1622, and proclaimed the first woman Doctor of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI." "Her writings are considered fundamental to the Golden Age of Spanish Literature."