The educational mission of the Society of St. Teresa found in its first formators an essential pillar. Cinta de María Talarn y Pino and Teresa de Jesús Blanch, two key figures in the transmission of the charism, stand out in this field.
Cinta de María Talarn y Pino, born in Roquetes (Tarragona) in 1852, was one of the first young women to join the Society's project. Endowed with a great spiritual sensitivity and a great capacity to educate, she assumed a decisive responsibility at the beginning: to accompany and form the first vocations.
Her role as first mistress of novices left a deep imprint on the formative style of the Society, helping to shape an identity marked by interiority, love of Jesus and apostolic dedication.
"She was a chosen soul for the formation of the first sisters, to whom she knew how to communicate the spirit of the Institute with great prudence and charity". (History of the Society, Volume I)
Cinta lived her vocation with evangelical radicalism, always choosing the paths of greater humility and service. Her early death did not prevent her legacy from remaining deeply rooted in the life of the Society.
Teresa de Jesús Blanch, born in Godall (Tarragona) in 1854, is one of the most relevant figures in the process of institutional consolidation of the Society. Her vocational journey, marked by discernment and availability, led her to assume important responsibilities at decisive moments.
She served as formator, director and superior, and was elected superior general on two occasions, playing a fundamental role in the organization and expansion of the Institute.
"She was distinguished by a firm softness and a delicate firmness, qualities that made her especially suitable for government." (Company History, Volume I)
Her life shows how the Teresian charism also unfolds in responsibility, decision-making and care for the community, always in charity and fidelity.
Cinta de María Talarn and Teresa de Jesús Blanch represent two essential dimensions of the origins of the Society: interior formation and organization at the service of the mission. Both, from their own vocation, contributed to give consistency and projection to a work that was just beginning.
You can read Enrique de Ossó's letters to Cinta de María Talarn and Teresa de Jesús Blanch here.
If you want to know more, you can watch the videos promoted by CIEST about the founders:
Cinta Talarn, Stj # 3 . The first Stj.
Teresa de Jesus Blanch, Stj # 4, by Sister Clarice Suchy stj. The first STJ.
