St Teresa of Avila’s Vision for France

Through visions given to Barbe Acarie, Saint Teresa of Avila planted the seeds of Carmel in France

Among the projects discussed in the salon of Madame Acarie was the plan of introducing the Carmelite Order into France.

Jean de Brétigny, a French priest from a Spanish family, had been working toward this goal without success since 1583. Thus, he translated the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila into French; they were published beginning in 1601 and quickly went through several editions due to their success. Devout Parisians could read, among other writings, The Way of Perfection, written in 1566, the year of Madame Acarie’s birth.

In 1602, Saint Teresa appeared in a vision to the woman whose birth may have been an answer to her prayers! She entrusted Barbe with the mission of bringing the Carmelite nuns into France:

"Just as I enriched Spain with this most celebrated Order, so you, who are restoring piety in France, must strive to bestow this same blessing on your country."

However, the theologians Barbe consulted advised her to "dismiss the thought" because of the breakdown of diplomatic relations between France and Spain.

Seven or eight months later, Teresa appeared to her again, assuring Barbe in a second vision that the foundation would indeed come to pass. This time, the theologians were convinced.

Barbe began taking steps, contacting two princesses who petitioned the King for permission. Against all expectations, he granted it!

That same year, while visiting the shrine of Saint Nicolas de Port, Barbe fell into ecstasy near the saint’s relics.

In this state, she heard Teresa call her to become a Carmelite lay sister. This stunned her, given her noble upbringing and social status, but she remained faithful to the conditions of this call when the time came.

Madame Acarie assembled the team tasked with bringing Carmelite nuns to France.

Since the Spanish friars continued to resist the plan, she persuaded Pierre de Bérulle to go to Spain himself to conduct the negotiations. Armed with letters of recommendation from the King and supported by the Papal Nuncio, he succeeded in obtaining six Carmelite nuns trained by Teresa herself: Blessed Anne of Jesus, Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew, Isabel of Saint Paul, Isabel of the Angels, Eleanor of Saint Bernard, and Beatrix of the Conception.

Meanwhile, Madame Acarie oversaw the construction of the first Carmel, located in Paris's Faubourg Saint-Jacques neighborhood. She also formed a community for young women aspiring to the Carmelite life to help prepare them.

After an epic journey, the Spanish Carmelite nuns were triumphantly received in Paris on 15 October 1604.

— Father Olivier Rousseau, o.c.d.

Advent 2020 Carmelite Online Retreat, Week Four

Note: Blessed Anne of Jesus, the leader of the Carmelite foundresses in France, spoke these remarkable words to the first novices at the foundation of the Carmel of Pontoise on 17 January 1605:

"You have entered an Order so holy and perfect, that by keeping its rules and constitutions faithfully, one will go directly from her deathbed to her home in heaven."

Years later, Barbe Acarie entered that same Carmel as a lay sister in 1614, taking the name Sister Mary of the Incarnation. She was beatified by Pope Pius VI in 1791.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Am I willing to be small and hidden, like Barbe Acarie, in carrying out God's plans?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

Source Reference

Retraite Avent 2020 avec la bienheureuse Marie de l’Incarnation (1566–1618), Carmes Déchaux de Paris, 2020. Available at: https://retraites.carmes-paris.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/S4-Avent-.2020..pdf (Accessed: 30 April 2025). © Carmes Déchaux de Paris. All rights reserved.
Translation from the French by Carmelite Quotes. May not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image

This detail is from a portrait of Blessed Mary of the Incarnation (Madame Acarie), an oil on canvas painting originally mounted on a door panel. The artwork belongs to the patrimony of the Carmel of Saint Joseph in Pontoise, France, where Barbe Acarie entered the Discalced Carmelite Order.
Image credit: Discalced Carmelites.