ABSTRACT
Although little-known to students of Spanish mysticism, Cecilia del Nacimiento, Discalced Carmelite of the early seventeenth century, merits recognition as an outstanding representative of the Carmelite mystical tradition epitomized by Juan de la Cruz and Teresa de Jesus. Cecilia gives very articulate and original testimony to the experience of intimate union with the Divine Spouse. An accomplished poet and prose writer, her work demonstrates an intellectual clarity and fullness of heart reminiscent of Juan de la Cruz. Cecilia's work demonstrates that Juan's legacy flourished among the second generation of Discalced Carmelite women. Who Was Cecilia del Nacimiento? Born in 1570, Cecilia was the second youngest child of Cecilia Morillas and Bachiller Antonio Sobrino, Secretary of the University of Valladolid.1 Cecilia was not a typical woman of late sixteenth-and early seventeenth-century Spain. She studied literature, grammar, philosophy, rhetoric, and Sacred Scripture with her siblings under the tutelage of her mother (35-6). Her mother was so learned that her university professor sons sought her advice on theological and philosophical questions (7).Cecilia and her sister, Maria, entered the Discalced Carmelite convent of Valladolid in 1587, five years after the death of Teresa de Jesus and four years before the death of Juan de la Cruz (7). Cecilia quickly assumed positions of leadership in her community. She served as mistress of novices after her full profession. In 1600 she was chosen prioress of the convent in Calahorra (8).
