St. John of the Cross: Imprisoned at Toledo

Two series of stained glass windows in the Basilica of the National Shrine in San Antonio recount the lives of the founders of the Discalced Carmelite Order. On the north wall, a series of five arched windows depicts the life of St. John of the Cross, faced by another series on the south wall illustrating scenes from the life of St. Teresa of Avila. The cover image in this issue, the window depicting St. John of the Cross in Toledo prison, illustrates the moment that Our Lady appeared to him during the octave of the Assumption to show him how to escape from the prison.

On Dec. 2, 1577, John of the Cross was abducted by a group of his fellow Carmelites. Some of his superiors, op-posing his attempts at reforming the Carmelite Order, had commanded him to leave Avila. He had disregarded their instructions, looking instead to the approval granted by the Spanish nuncio, a higher authority, for his efforts.

He was taken to the Carmelite monastery in Toledo, tried by a court of his fellow friars, and sentenced to prison within the monastery. He was brutally treated there, isolated in a ten-by-six foot cell, and subjected to lashings, dark-ness, extremes in temperature, and near-starvation. Nine months later, he managed to escape through a small window in a room adjoining his cell. As soon as he had recovered his health, John continued his efforts at reform. With-in two months, his followers had agreed to request formal separation from the Carmelite Order.

St. John of the Cross is considered one of the foremost Spanish-language poets. It was during his imprisonment that he began composing his major poems.

“The Dark Night of the Soul” narrates the journey of the soul through the darkness of endurance in detaching from the world to the light of union with God.

The “Spiritual Canticle” is a retelling of the Song of Songs, in which the bride, representing the soul, searches for her bridegroom, Christ. Many of St. John’s theological writings elaborate upon these poetic masterpieces.

In 1926 Pope Pius XI declared St. John of the Cross a Doctor of Mystical Theology of the Universal Church.

The Basilica’s St. John and St. Teresa windows were commissioned to artist Rodney Winfield of the Emil Frei Stain Glass Co. of St. Louis in the 1950s. The German "bubble glass” holds tiny bubbles within the glass to catch the light and enhance the colors.


Article first published in the Apostolate of the Magazine Vol. 86, No. 1

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