Anunciación convent
An enthusiastic patronage encourages
the eighth founding
Saint Teresa of Jesus arrived in Alba de Tormes with Saint John of the Cross to carry out, in 1571, her eighth founding. This was made possible by the protection of the House of Alba. Francisco Velázquez and his wife, Teresa de Laiz, accountants of the Duke, undertook the project with such devotion that they even donated the land on which their own house was built. The convent’s location is also related to the views over the River Tormes of this place, which the Saint used to like so much.
The death of Saint Teresa, in October of 1582 in this convent, and the fact that her remains were kept in its church, turned it into a place of pilgrimage, especially after her beatification and canonisation. After many ups and downs and other locations, the saint’s uncorrupted body is now kept in an 18th century casket, made under royal patronage and located in the centre of the main altar, while beside it there are further urns with her heart and her left arm. The relics and the niches behind the altar can be accessed via the Carmelite Museum.