Route San Juan de Ávila. My Granada

John of Avila, known as the "Apostle of Andalusia", was a great preacher, humanist reformer, spiritual guide, confessor, ascetic and mystic, he was the most consulted man in Spain during the 16th century.

He studied Law at the University of Salamanca and Theology at the University of Alcalá de Henares, where the new currents of humanist philosophical thought changed forever the perspective of human beings, their capacities and values and their relations with the world around them.

He was ordained a priest in 1526. From 1535 until his death, he remained linked to the diocese of Córdoba, although his action and work would leave a deep mark throughout Andalusia, especially in Granada, where he studied and helped to organise the new educational infrastructures for the evangelisation of a city where the Hispano-Muslim culture was still very much alive and present in the Moorish population of the Albaicín.

The places where his most representative work is concentrated are: Baeza, Montilla and Granada, and it is in this city, Granada, where our route rediscovers the contributions of transcendental importance that Juan de Ávila makes to our history, leaving a profound mark on Granada. On this original route we will discover the places in Granada where Father Avila left his mark, helping us to understand more and better the history of Granada and its leading role not only in Spain, but also in 16th century Europe.

Of all his rich contributions, we must highlight his foundation of a university in Baeza, as well as his rich and decisive contribution to the second and third stages of the Council of Trent, through his friend, the archbishop of Granada, Don Pedro Guerrero.

Thanks to his biographer and personal friend, Fray Luis de Granada, we discover a deeply coherent and powerful human being, who stood out for his great capacity to stir consciences through his preaching and thus awaken the spiritual dimension of those who listened to him in his homilies or in confession.

Father Ávila was an indispensable point of reference for many illustrious figures, from King Philip II, the nobility and the clergy to the most humble parishioners and also the most invisible: Moors, children and women.

Let yourself be surprised by the father and teacher Ávila, who loved Granada so much that he affectionately called it "My Granada".

Available language for the route: Spanish.

Youtube video made by the media partners of the archbishopric.

https://vatelevision.com