RÍO DE JANEIRO, Brazil.
St. Teresa of Avila in Brazil is a bilingual book (Spanish and Portuguese) that brings together seven essays on the presence of Teresa of Jesus in Brazilian culture. The book, sponsored by the Embassy of Spain in Brazil, was presented last December.
Coordinated by Begoña Sáez Martínez, the book commemorates the V Teresian Centenary as well as the 450th anniversary of the founding of Rio de Janeiro and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Jacinta de San José, founder of the first convent of Carmelite nuns in Brazil. Members of the Teresian Association have collaborated to the book.
The essays in the book correspond to studies of literature, history, arts and religion, not to mention the text of the nuns of the Convent of Saint Teresa on the expansion of the Discalced Carmelites in Brazil.
Brazilian writer Nélida Piñon, of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and Prince of Asturias Award 2005, opens the book with an essay that evokes her personal and close relationship with Teresa.
Lúcia Pádua Pedrosa wrote the essay on the dimensions of the religious as a woman, writer, and spiritual teacher.
Dante Gallian addressed the history of the Discalced Carmelites in Brazil.
Begoña Sáez Martinez contributed an article on the introduction and translations of the works of St. Teresa in Brazil.
The influence of Teresa of Avila on different and great Brazilian writers is described in an essay by Concha Piñero.
The presence of the religious woman in colonial painting in Northeastern Brazil was the theme chosen by Roberta Bacellar Orazem.
Silvia Fernandes compared the mystical experience of Saint Teresa with Afro-Brazilian religions.
The volume concludes with a text prepared by the nuns of Saint Teresa’s convent on the founding of their Order in Brazil.
The book is very attractive because of its graphic presentation, in addition to its multidisciplinary vision, including essays on iconography, Teresian mysticism, and Brazilian popular religiosity, among others.
Presented to a large audience in December 2015, the book closes the celebratiions of the V Teresian Centenary with a nice Brazilian tribute.
Text and photos: Celia Resende.