Carmelitas Descalzas de San José (Barefoot Carmelites of St. Joseph)
Also known as the Convento de las Madres (Convent of the Mothers), this is the first convent founded by Santa Teresa in 1562 when she began her reform of the Carmelite order. There are two churches: a primitive one, where the first Carmelite nuns took the habit; and one built by Francisco de Mora, architect for Felipe III, after the saint’s death. The convent’s peculiar little museum, consisting of several rooms behind plate glass, holds personal artifacts of Santa Teresa, including her collarbone and the saddle on which she rode around Spain founding convents. One room re-creates her original cell at the convent, including a narrow bed with a log pillow. In the tiny convent church, you might hear the disembodied voices of the cloistered nuns as they sing their prayers.
Also known as the Convento de las Madres (Convent of the Mothers), this is the first convent founded by Santa Teresa in 1562 when she began her reform of the Carmelite order. There are two churches: a primitive one, where the first Carmelite nuns took the habit; and one built by Francisco de Mora, architect for Felipe III, after the saint’s death. The convent’s peculiar little museum, consisting of several rooms behind plate glass, holds personal artifacts of Santa Teresa, including her collarbone and the saddle on which she rode around Spain founding convents. One room re-creates her original cell at the convent, including a narrow bed with a log pillow. In the tiny convent church, you might hear the disembodied voices of the cloistered nuns as they sing their prayers.
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