Editing Teresa of Ávila (section)

===Early life===
Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada was born on 28 March 1515.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/310/31045568058.pdf|page=1063; 1065|year=2015|last=Thous Tuset|first=Carmen|title=Santa Teresa de Jesús, su guion de vida|journal=Opción|volume=31|issue=2|publisher=[[Universidad del Zulia]]|location=Maracaibo}}</ref> Her birthplace was either [[Ávila]] or [[Gotarrendura]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/6937/693773296006.pdf|last=Carravilla Parra|issn=2660-6070|first=Jesús|title=La experiencia de Dios y el realismo de Teresa de Jesús|journal=Cuadernos de Pensamiento|issue=28|year=2015|page=114}}</ref> Her paternal grandfather, Juan Sánchez de Toledo, was a {{lang|es|[[marrano]]}} or {{lang|es|[[converso]]}}, a Jew forced to convert to Christianity or emigrate. When Teresa's father was a child, Juan was condemned by the [[Spanish Inquisition]] for allegedly returning to [[Judaism]], but he was later able to assume a Catholic identity.{{sfn|Foa|2015}} Her father, [[:es:Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda|Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda]], was a successful wool merchant and one of the wealthiest men in Ávila. He bought a [[knighthood]] and assimilated successfully into Christian society.
[[File:Arnold van Westerhout - Teresa of Ávila leaves her home to travel to Africa.jpeg|thumb|left|''Young Teresa of Ávila and brother run away from home to travel to Africa'' by [[Arnold van Westerhout]]]]
Previously married to Catalina del Peso y Henao, with whom he had three children, in 1509, Sánchez de Cepeda married Teresa's mother, Beatriz de Ahumada y Cuevas, in Gotarrendura.{{sfn|Clissold|1982|p=}} A brother, Lorenzo de Cepeda y Ahumada, was the father of [[Teresa de Ahumada]].<ref name="Petroglifos2023">{{cite web |last1=Jimenez |first1=Richard |title=Teresa de Cepeda y Fuentes, primera poeta ecuatoriana |url=https://petroglifosrevistacritica.org.ve/blog/teresa-de-cepeda-y-fuentes-primera-poeta-ecuatoriana/ |website=Petroglifos Revista Crítica Transdisciplinaria |access-date=30 September 2024 |language=es |date=5 June 2023}}</ref>

Teresa's mother brought her up as a dedicated Christian. Fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints, she ran away from home at age seven, with her brother Rodrigo, to seek [[martyrdom]] in the fight against [[the Moors]]. Her uncle brought them home, when he spotted them just outside the town walls.{{sfn|Medwick|1999|loc=Expeditions}}

When Teresa was fourteen years old, her mother died, leaving her grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the [[Virgin Mary]] as her spiritual mother. Teresa was also enamored of popular fiction, which at the time consisted primarily of medieval tales of [[knighthood]] and works about fashion, gardens and flowers.{{sfn|Teresa of Avila|Lewis|1870|p=}}<ref group=web name=CNA /> Teresa was sent to the [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] nuns' school in Ávila.{{sfnp|Zimmerman|1912}}