Between 1633 and 1654, the Discalced Carmelites built the Church of St. Teresa of Avila, which today stands in close proximity to the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn. The church was adjoined to their large and spacious monastery, which featured several inner courtyards.
The Discalced Carmelites are a reformed branch of the Carmelite Order, established in Spain by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, strictly adhering to the Rule of St. Albert and their own constitutions. They are most renowned in the field of mystical theology: the works of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross are still considered masterly guides to mysticism today. In 1626, the Discalced Carmelites arrived in Vilnius, and in 1737, they established the Province of St. Casimir of Lithuania. Following the uprisings of 1831 and 1864, the Tsarist authorities closed all the monasteries of the Discalced Carmelites. They were briefly re-established in interwar Lithuania.
Supported by the Lithuanian nobility, the Discalced Carmelites built a monastery in Vilnius, with buildings situated along the city’s defensive wall across an area of three blocks. In 1654, the Bishop of Vilnius, Jerzy Tyszkiewicz, consecrated the Church of St. Teresa. It stands across from the monastery buildings enclosed by a stone wall, its presbytery directly connected to the monastery.
The church was founded by Stefan Pac, the Vice-Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and designed by the Italian royal architects Constantino Tencalla and Giovanni Battista Gisleni. The current interior of the church was created in the second half of the 18th century. Between 1760 and 1764, the Vilnius artist Maciej Słuszczański painted frescoes depicting the life and work of St. Teresa. In 1783, Maciej Pociej added a chapel in a transitional style (from Rococo to Classicism) on the side of the Gate of Dawn Street.
The Church of St. Teresa was never closed. After the Discalced Carmelite monastery was shut down in 1844, it became a parish church, together with the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn.