Which Spanish saint was investigated by the Inquisition for heresy?

The Spanish saint investigated by the Inquisition for heresy was Teresa of Ávila. Born Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada in Ávila in 1515, she became a Carmelite nun, mystic, author, and reformer who helped establish the Discalced Carmelite order.

Her visions and reports of mystical experiences attracted scrutiny during a period when the Inquisition was especially suspicious of alleged false mysticism and alumbradismo. Investigators examined her writings and questioned people connected with her, particularly during inquiries in Córdoba and Seville in the 1570s. Her autobiography, the Libro de la vida, also received inquisitorial attention.

Teresa was never convicted of heresy. Church authorities ultimately accepted her orthodoxy, and she continued founding convents and writing influential works such as The Interior Castle. She was beatified in 1614 and canonized in 1622, alongside Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. In 1970, she became the first woman named a Doctor of the Church.

A common mix-up is to treat investigation as proof of condemnation: in Teresa’s case, inquisitorial scrutiny did not result in a heresy conviction.