John of the Cross
John of the Cross (1542 –1591) was born in Fonteveros, Spain and joined the Carmelite Order as a young man. After meeting St Teresa of Ávila, he joined her attempts at reforming the order, embracing a more stringently monastic and studious life than Carmelites then practised. Arrested, imprisoned and tortured for his beliefs, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening during his captivity which inspired an outpouring of mystical poetry and writings, including ‘The Ascent of Mount Carmel’, ‘The Dark Night’ and ‘The Spiritual Canticle’. He was canonized as a saint in 1726.