St Teresa of Avila was born in Spain to a Toledo merchant and his second wife, who died when Teresa was 15. Shortly after this event, Teresa was then entrusted to the care of the Augustinian nuns. Teresa decided to enter a religious life after reading the letters of St Jerome. In 1535, she joined the Carmelite order and spent a number of years in the convent. She came down with a severe illness that left her legs paralysed for three years, but then experienced a vision of "the sorely wounded Christ" that changed her life forever. Teresa endeavoured to create a more primitive type of Carmelite, gathering groups of supporters to help her with this. Teresa left a significant legacy of writings after her death in 1582.