Our History

Beginning

The Society of St. Teresa of Jesus is celebrating 150 years of history. We recall and are grateful for that sleepless night(April 2, 1876) when our founder, the priest Henry de Ossó, sensed that God was asking him to create an association, inspired by St. Teresa, to regenerate the wounded world of his time through education.

We were born in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Enseñanza. On June 23, 1876, the feast of the Sacred Heart, nine young women committed themselves to live in community, observe a set of rules and be under the direction and guidance of Henry de Ossó. Three years later, on January 1, 1879, eight sisters made their first public vows in the Chapel of St. Paul.

Growth

In the first decades we organized ourselves internally and began our evangelizing activity with Sunday schools and pilgrimages. In 1877 Pope Leo XIII blessed our works and a year later the first Teresian school was founded in Villalonga (Tarragona). The first Superior General arrived in 1882 and we soon crossed borders, reaching Portugal and beginning missions in Africa (1885) and Latin America (1888).

In 1890 we inaugurated the Barcelona-Ganduxer school, an emblematic space where the General Government was transferred. At the beginning of the 20th century, we received the pontifical approval of the Congregation and the Constitutions, and we organized ourselves into provinces.The Editorial STJ, which depended on the General Prefect of Education, was born, to spread the Teresian spirit.

Textbooks, new editions of the 15 Minutes of Prayer and the Jesús Maestro Magazine were published, giving continuity to the Teresian Magazine begun by Henry de Ossó in 1872. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Mercedes Prat became our first martyr. She would be beatified in 1990 by Pope John Paul II.

Consolidation

The Second Vatican Council inspired our General Assembly of Renewal (1967). The recognition of the Teresian Apostolic Movement, continuing the Archconfraternity founded by Ossó, gave shape to the Teresian lay vocation in families, youth and educators. The 1980's marked a period pf expansion and diversification of our comprehensive educational mission, as our presence grew in universities, residences, youth ministry and social outreach.

We are committed to a critical and spiritual approach to education, with feminine leadership and collaborative networks. In the 1990s, we celebrated with joy the canonization of Henry de Ossó (1993) and we extended our presence to Asia. In this millennium we have updated the Formation Project, the Constitutions and the Teresian Pedagogy.

We are present in 22 countries across the Americas, Europe and Africa, with schools, residences, social centers and houses of spirituality. We educate both in schools and in other mission areas.