Balthazar Alvarez (April 1534 – July 25, 1580) was a Spanish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mystic and was the spiritual director of Saint Teresa.

Life

Alvarez was born in

Cervera del Río Alhama Cervera del Río Alhama is a town in the province and autonomous community of La Rioja, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Pun ...

, Spain, in April 1534 to a noble family. He studied philosophy and theology in the

University of Alcalá The University of Alcalá () is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a ''Studium Generale'' for t ...

. His inclination was first towards the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

s because of their life of contemplation, but finally he entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

at Alcalá in 1555, fifteen years after its foundation. In the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of Simancas he met

Francis Borgia Francis Borgia (; ; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of both Pope Alexander VI and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After the death of his w ...

and a strong affection was established between them. He resumed his philosophical and theological studies at Alcalá and

Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

, under the guidance of the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

, for at that time in Spain the Society of Jesus had no college for theological studies of its own. Although continual interruptions of his studies impeded his progress in

scholastic theology Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...

, he did advance in the field of

mystical theology Mystical theology is the branch of theology in the Christian tradition ...

. He became

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

master of novices In the Christian Church, a novice master or master of novices (), is a member of an institute of consecrated life who is responsible for the training and government of the novitiate in that institute. In religious institutes for women, the novic ...

, rector,

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Canad ...

, and

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. Alvarez was drawn to

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

and

mortification Mortification may refer to: *Mortification (theology), theological doctrine *Mortification of the flesh, religious practice of corporal mortification *Mortification in Roman Catholic teaching, Roman Catholic doctrine of mortification *Extreme emb ...

, and recommended this approach to those under his supervision.Lewis SJ, Scott. "Balthasar Alvarez and The Prayer of Silence", Dominican Central Province
/ref> He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1558, and at the age of twenty-six was appointed minister in Ávila. There he became the spiritual director for a number of individuals, including Saint Teresa, with whom he was rather severe, charging her with being frivolous. He was at first skeptical of her accounts of mystical experience, until he later experienced something similar. Because of his connection with the

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

nun, some of the opposition she encountered in her efforts of reform was directed at him as well. Alvarez not only guided her in matters of the spirit, but defended her from her critics, encouraged her in her work of reform, and had much to do with framing the rules of the new Order.Campbell, Thomas. "Balthazar Alvarez." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 10 Jan. 2018 Alvarez's direction of Teresa continued for seven years. She said that it was revealed to her that there was no one in the world who surpassed him in sanctity. They maintained correspondence when he was away. In March 1567 he reportedly received the gift of infused contemplation. One result was that he became less disturbed by his own failings, and more tolerant of others. In 1574 he was made rector of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

and visitor of the Province of Aragon and, in 1579, was about to be sent as provincial to

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but that project was never carried out. He was well on in life when his method of prayer was questioned by some as being a delusion of the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

. Alvarez was compelled to write an account of it to the General of the Society of Jesus,

Everard Mercurian Everard Mercurian (1514 – 1 August 1580) was the fourth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Early life Born 'Lardinois' into a humble family in Marcourt, near La Roche-en-Ardenne in what is now the province of Luxembourg in 1514, in t ...

, who approved of it, but did not condone it as a general practice. At the same time, he expressed his esteem for Alvarez and employed him in multiple offices. Alvarez died at Belmonte in 1580.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Balthazar 1554 births 1580 deaths 16th-century Spanish Jesuits People from La Rioja