Sooner or later, anyone who wants to take prayer seriously meets a limit: we do not see ourselves clearly. We do not always know how to distinguish a true inspiration from an illusion, a call from God from a passing fancy, a purifying trial from a discouragement that must be resisted. This is why Catholic tradition has always recommended being accompanied by an experienced guide: a spiritual director — today often called a spiritual companion or spiritual father.
But the practical question immediately follows: how should one choose such a person? Not every guide is equal, and spiritual tradition unanimously says so with striking severity. St. John of the Cross warns that an ignorant director can "cause such great harm" to souls[1], and St. Francis de Sales recommends choosing one "among ten thousand"[2]. The choice is not minor: it can shape years of interior life.
This article answers the question concretely: what a spiritual director is — and is not — why he is so strongly recommended, the three qualities he must have, who can exercise this service, how to seek and test a guide in four steps, how to recognize a bad director and guard against him, and finally what is required of the person being directed. It draws on Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the great masters of direction: Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Ignatius of Loyola.
What is a spiritual director — and what is he not?
Before looking for a director, one must know what one is looking for. The word direction can mislead: it suggests neither a boss who commands nor an expert who manages a project. The Catechism, by contrast, places spiritual direction among the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the Church for the common good of prayer:
"The Holy Spirit gives to certain of the faithful the gifts of wisdom, faith and discernment for the sake of this common good which is prayer (spiritual direction). Those, men and women, who are so endowed are true servants of the living tradition of prayer." — Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2690[3]
The director is therefore first a servant: he does not possess the soul he accompanies; he serves it. His role is not to impose a path, but to help the other person discern and follow the one that God is tracing.
A companion on the road, not a guru
The best image is that of a companion on the road. In the book of Tobit, young Tobias must make a long journey by roads he does not know; his father Tobit tells him: "seek a trustworthy man to accompany you" — and the narrator adds: "Tobias went out to seek a man who knew the way, to accompany him to Media": it is the angel Raphael, under human appearance, who walks beside him[4]. St. Francis de Sales makes this scene the very model of spiritual direction, paraphrasing it in his own way:
"Young Tobias, commanded to go to Rages: 'I do not know the way at all,' said he. 'Go then,' replied his father, 'and seek some man who may guide you.' I say the same to you, my Philothea: if you wish deliberately to set out toward devotion, seek some good man to guide and lead you; this is the warning of warnings." — St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4 (1619 text)[5]
The director is therefore not an intellectual mentor from whom one expects orders, still less a guru who captures consciences. St. Ignatius of Loyola gives the model for this in the Spiritual Exercises: "he who gives the Exercises should not lean or incline to either side; but, standing in equilibrium like the balance, should allow the Creator to deal immediately with the creature, and the creature with his Creator and Lord"[6]. This instruction applies to "the very time of the Exercises" — outside that time, directing a soul toward a state of life remains legitimate — but it more broadly inspires all accompaniment: the good guide steps aside: he opens the door, but God is the one who enters.
Spiritual direction and confession: a decisive distinction
The most common confusion is between spiritual direction and confession. They are two distinct realities, even when the same priest exercises both, sometimes during the same meeting.
- Confession (or the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation) is a sacrament: the priest, acting in persona Christi ("in the person of Christ"), absolves sins. It is reserved to a validly ordained priest and is protected by the sacramental seal, the strictest secrecy there is[7].
- Spiritual direction is an accompaniment of the whole interior life: prayer, discernment, vocation, trials, growth in virtue. It does not give absolution and is not reserved to priests.
When the Catechism describes the confessor, it also sketches the profile of a good guide: he must have "a proven knowledge of Christian behavior, experience of human affairs, respect and sensitivity toward the one who has fallen," and lead the penitent "with patience toward healing and full maturity"[8]. These qualities — knowledge, experience, sensitivity, patience — are exactly what one expects from a director.
In practice, many faithful have a regular confessor who is also their director. This can be convenient and fruitful, because the knowledge of the soul gained in direction sheds light on confession, and conversely. But it is not obligatory, and it is perfectly legitimate to entrust one's direction to someone who is not one's confessor.
Neither psychotherapist nor personal-development coach
Another confusion, widespread today, assimilates spiritual direction to psychotherapy or coaching. From the outside, all three may look similar — one speaks, is listened to, and receives advice — but their end is radically different.
The psychotherapist aims at psychological health; the coach aims at performance or the achievement of objectives. The spiritual director aims at one thing only: helping the soul unite itself to God and do his will. The point is not to feel better, but to become holy. Direction can bring deep peace, but that is a fruit, never the goal. Confusing the two leads one to expect from the director what he cannot give — therapy — and to neglect what he alone offers: a path toward God.
That said, a good director knows how to distinguish what belongs to the spiritual order from what belongs to the psychological or medical order, and he will not hesitate, when needed, to refer someone to a competent professional. Grace does not abolish nature: a depressive disorder is treated, not confessed.
Is a spiritual director really necessary?
Many people wonder whether spiritual direction is necessary, or whether one can simply entrust oneself directly to God. The tradition's answer is nuanced but firm: for ordinary faithful it is not a strict obligation — but it is such a precious help that the saints constantly recommended it, sometimes in very forceful terms.
"A solitary tree abandoned in the field"
The great argument is self-blindness. Left to ourselves, we judge ourselves badly: we take our desires for inspirations, our fatigue for mystical nights, our cowardice for prudence. St. John of the Cross sums this up in a striking image:
"He who wishes to live without the direction of any spiritual father resembles a tree planted alone in a field, belonging to no one. All who pass that way take its fruit, even before it is ripe." — St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Sentences (Sayings of Light and Love), n. 5 (trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J.)[9]
The tree without a gardener bears fruit, but it is picked before it ripens. In the same way, the soul without a guide may do good, but it is exposed to error and to losing its graces. The same doctor goes further in the Ascent of Mount Carmel: "The sovereign of the world so absolutely wills that the spiritual guidance of a man depend on another man like himself, that he does not require us to believe altogether what he reveals, nor to defer entirely to it, unless it comes to us through the channel of men" — and in all things one must "attach oneself to the doctrine of Jesus Christ, of his Church, and of her Ministers" (book II, ch. 22)[10].
The converging witness of the saints and Scripture
This counsel is not the idea of one author: it is a constant in Catholic spirituality, already present in Scripture. When the deacon Philip finds the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah without understanding it, he asks whether he understands what he is reading; the other replies:
"How can I, unless someone guides me?" — Acts of the Apostles 8:31[11]
The book of Proverbs gives the same law for life in general: "For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors" (Pr 11:14)[12]. And Sirach praises the faithful friend as a treasure — a text that St. Francis de Sales applies precisely to the director:
"A faithful friend, says Holy Scripture, is a strong protection; he who has found one has found a treasure." — cited by St. Francis de Sales, after Sirach 6:14-16[13]
St. Vincent Ferrer[14], St. Philip Neri[15], St. Francis de Sales[16], St. Teresa of Avila[17], St. Ignatius[18]: all had directors and became directors for others. Christian holiness is never a solitary exploit; it is received within a chain of spiritual fathers and children.
Recommended, not strictly obligatory — but who can do without it?
Does this mean that no Christian can live without a director? No. For the great majority of faithful living an ordinary life, the Church does not impose spiritual direction as an obligation. Many are sanctified by the sacraments, prayer, Scripture, regular confession and good reading, without a formal ongoing accompaniment.
But as soon as one wants to advance seriously — enter into mental prayer, discern a vocation, pass through an interior trial, leave a habitual sin, answer a call to holiness — accompaniment becomes almost indispensable. The practical rule is this: the higher one climbs, the more one needs a guide, because the paths become subtler and illusions more refined. For discerning one's vocation or discerning spirits, a competent outside gaze is worth more than a thousand solitary arguments.
The three qualities of a good director
The whole difficulty of the choice is contained in one sentence from St. Francis de Sales: a good director is rare. "And for this, choose one among a thousand, says Avila; and I say among ten thousand, for there are fewer than one can say who are capable of this office"[19]. Why so rare? Because three qualities must be found together, and that is uncommon.
St. Francis de Sales states them with definitive clarity and warns that none may be missing:
"He must be full of charity, knowledge and prudence: if one of these three parts is lacking, there is danger." — St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4 (1619 text)[20]
Knowledge: knowing doctrine so as not to mislead
Knowledge means a sound grasp of Catholic doctrine, morality, spiritual theology and the ways of prayer. An ignorant director, even with good intentions, can mislead: he may take a grace for a temptation, or the reverse; he may impose his own recipes where God is calling elsewhere.
St. Teresa of Avila, who learned this the hard way, nevertheless puts things in order: the guide must first be of sound judgment and experienced; learning comes next, and it can be supplemented by consulting learned persons:
"It is therefore extremely important that the director be judicious and experienced. If with this he is also learned, it will be a very great good; but if no one can be found who has all three qualities together, it is much if he has the first two, because, if need be, learned persons can be consulted." — St. Teresa of Avila, Life Written by Herself, ch. 13[21]
Teresa knows what she is talking about: it was confessors who were medio letrados — half-learned men — who did "great harm" to her soul (Life, ch. 5); virtuous guides without learning are worth more than half-learned ones, and "a good learned man never deceived [her]" (buen letrado nunca me engañó)[22]. The lesson is therefore subtler: fervor does not replace doctrinal competence, but half-learning misleads more surely than humble ignorance that knows how to consult.
Prudence and experience: having walked the road
Prudence is the art of applying doctrine to this case, to this soul, in these circumstances. Two people may need opposite counsel; the prudent director knows how to adapt without betraying the principle.
St. John of the Cross adds a requirement that many forget: experience. Knowledge and prudence are not enough for the higher ways of the interior life; one must have walked the path oneself:
"For he must be of consummate wisdom, discretion, and experience in these matters. For although learning is a necessary foundation for sustaining the direction of souls, nevertheless if the director has no practice of these things, he will not know how to govern [...]" — St. John of the Cross, Living Flame of Love, canto III (trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J.)[23]
This is precisely what the Catechism takes up when it cites this passage to stress that the director must be "learned and prudent," but also experienced in the life of the spirit[24].
Charity and holiness: seeking God, not oneself
Charity, finally, is the master quality: it is the love by which the director seeks the good of the soul and the glory of God, not his own interest, prestige or control. A charitable director is patient, gratuitous and disinterested; he rejoices when the soul progresses, even far from him.
Charity presupposes holiness, or at least the sincere desire for holiness: one leads well only where one is walking oneself. The best director is the one who prays, confesses, struggles — who is himself a disciple. The table below summarizes these requirements, each with its own accent:
| Spiritual master | Work | Qualities required of the director |
|---|---|---|
| St. Francis de Sales | Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4 | Charity, knowledge and prudence — if one is missing, "there is danger" |
| St. John of the Cross | Living Flame of Love, canto III | Learned, prudent, and above all experienced in spiritual life |
| St. Teresa of Avila | Life, ch. 5 and 13 | Judgment and experience first; learning, supplemented if needed from learned persons |
| Catechism (confessor) | CCC n. 1466 | Proven knowledge, experience of human affairs, respect, patience |
Priest, religious or layperson? Who can direct a soul?
A practical question often returns: must the director be a priest? The answer, in keeping with the tradition and the law of the Church, is no, not necessarily — even though the priestly ministry brings its own advantages.
The director is not necessarily a priest
Spiritual direction is not a sacrament; it therefore does not require ordination. The Catechism says this by speaking of "those" endowed with it, men and women alike[25]. A religious who is not a priest, a consecrated woman, or a well-formed and experienced layperson can perfectly accompany a soul. What matters is the threefold quality — charity, knowledge, prudence — not the state of life.
The priest's proper advantage
The priest nevertheless has a major advantage: he alone hears confession and absolves. Having one's confessor as director makes it possible to unite spiritual accompaniment and sacramental grace in a fruitful continuity. The priest also has, by his formation and mission, a particular familiarity with doctrine and with the experience of many souls. This is why, historically, direction has often been linked to the priesthood — without ever being reserved to it.
Women and lay directors: a long tradition
The history of the Church is full of women and laypeople who directed souls, sometimes those of priests and bishops. St. Catherine of Siena, a simple Dominican tertiary, advised cardinals and popes by letter[26]. St. Teresa of Avila trained her sisters in discernment. Even today, countless religious sisters, monks and consecrated laypeople exercise this service fruitfully. The decisive criterion remains the same: not the title, but the real capacity to lead to God.
How to choose a spiritual director concretely
Now to the practical point. Choosing a director is not decided in one day or by chance. Tradition and pastoral experience suggest a path in four steps.
First step: pray and ask for light
The choice of a director is a grace; it must therefore be asked for. Before any search, pray to the Holy Spirit — who, according to the Catechism, gives this gift — so that he may lead you to the guide he has prepared. St. Francis de Sales advises asking God for such a guide "with great insistence," then, once one has found him, not to keep changing lightly[27]. Many good choices begin with a simple, trusting prayer: "Lord, give me the guide my soul needs."
Second step: seek where good guides are found
God ordinarily acts through human means. One looks for a director where spiritual life is alive:
- One's parish: the pastor or a priest in the area may accompany or refer.
- Religious communities: monasteries, abbeys, convents — monks and nuns are often excellent companions.
- Retreat houses and Ignatian, Carmelite or Benedictine centers.
- Movements and schools of spirituality recognized by the Church.
- Word of mouth: ask serious Christians who themselves have a good director.
One may meet several people before settling. There is no lack of delicacy in meeting a possible guide and then continuing the search if the contact does not fit.
Third step: test before committing
Before entrusting one's soul over time, it is wise to test the potential guide without haste. A few practical questions help discern:
- Does this guide lead me back to God, or attach me to himself?
- Is his doctrine sound, faithful to the Church and the Magisterium?
- Does he respect my freedom, or does he seek to control everything?
- Is he available and regular, or impossible to reach?
- Does he speak to me with truth, even when it disturbs me, or only to please me?
A good director can bear being questioned and does not demand blind trust from the first day: trust is built. Conversely, a guide who immediately demands total submission is a warning sign (see below).
Fourth step: commit with duration and regularity
Once the choice is made, one must hold to it. Direction bears fruit only through duration and regularity: a meeting every month or every few weeks, according to need and availability. Constantly changing director — something St. Francis de Sales strongly discourages — prevents any deep work, because each new guide must discover everything again. Fidelity, here as elsewhere, is the condition of fruitfulness.
Signs of a bad director: guarding against control
If tradition insists so much on the choice, it is because a bad director can do great harm. One must therefore know how to recognize warning signs and never hesitate to leave a relationship that has become unhealthy.
The "three blind ones" of St. John of the Cross
St. John of the Cross devotes long pages in the Living Flame to denouncing directors who prevent souls from advancing. He teaches that three "blind ones" can divert a soul from the path God traces for it:
"There are three kinds of blind ones that can turn it aside from the right path: the spiritual director, the evil spirit, and the soul." — St. John of the Cross, Living Flame of Love, canto III (trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J.)[28]
The first blind one — and the most serious, because one trusts him — is the bad director. John of the Cross accuses him, echoing Christ's reproach to the doctors of the Law, of being "like stones and like bars of iron at the gate of Heaven, to shut its entrance to others"[29]. The mystical doctor's verdict is severe:
"For since they are ignorant of these ways, why do they not send such persons to directors more skilled than themselves? Are they not guilty before God of causing such great harm to these souls, and of depriving them of such great goods?" — St. John of the Cross, Living Flame of Love, canto III (trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J.)[30]
The director who takes God's place
The most dangerous sign is a director who, instead of leading to God, puts himself in God's place. He creates dependence, demands absolute obedience down to the details of life, makes himself indispensable, isolates the soul from relatives and friends, and punishes the slightest desire for autonomy. This is the exact opposite of the Ignatian requirement: the good guide lets "the Creator deal immediately with the creature"[31]; the bad one inserts himself between the soul and God.
This mechanism of control is better known today and is the object of increased vigilance by the Church, especially since scandals linked to certain communities. Spiritual abuse — manipulation of consciences, confusion of roles, undue influence — is a grave perversion of direction, treated more fully in the article on the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. On the legal level, the work is in progress: by a letter dated 22 November 2024 (made public on the 25th), the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, together with the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, set up a working group tasked with studying the creation of a canonical delict of "spiritual abuse"[32]. On 10 October 2025, Leo XIV confirmed the president of this group, whose work is judged "fruitful"; at the end of October 2025, the delict nevertheless remained to be defined[33]. As of the date of this correction (4 October 2026), no promulgated delict of spiritual abuse has been made public: the delict remains proposed, not promulgated.
Confusion of the internal and external forum
A principle of the Church's wisdom protects against control: the separation of the internal and external forum. The internal forum is the secret domain of conscience (confession, direction); the external forum is that of government and public authority. The Code of Canon Law recognizes for members of religious institutes "the freedom due to them concerning the sacrament of penance and the direction of conscience" (can. 630, § 1)[34]; it provides that "superiors are not to hear the confessions of their subjects, unless the subjects spontaneously request it" (§ 4), and forbids them to induce their subjects "in any way to make an opening of conscience to them" (§ 5). Likewise, in decisions concerning the admission of a seminarian to orders or his dismissal from the seminary, "the opinion of the spiritual director may in no case be sought, nor that of the confessors" (can. 240, § 2)[35]. It is precisely so that no one may be judged publicly on what he has confided in secret. When these two forums are mixed — when the director is also the chief who commands and sanctions — the door is opened to every abuse. A healthy director respects this boundary.
When and how should one change director?
If fidelity is the rule, it is not an absolute. It is legitimate, and sometimes necessary, to change director:
- if he teaches a doctrine contrary to the faith of the Church;
- if he seeks control rather than the soul's freedom;
- if he crosses the limits of chastity or decency;
- if he becomes permanently unavailable, or manifestly incompetent for the path to which God is calling.
The change should then be made with peace and uprightness: without slander, thanking the guide for the good received, but without lingering in a relationship that harms. St. John of the Cross asks directors to welcome souls "consulting others," and even to "advise them to take other spiritual fathers, when they no longer profit under their direction" (Living Flame, canto III, trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J.)[36].
The role of the directed person: docility, freedom, transparency
Direction is a work of two. An excellent guide can do nothing for someone who comes closed, hidden or resistant. The person being directed therefore also has dispositions to cultivate.
Opening the heart in trust
The first disposition is transparency: opening one's heart sincerely, hiding nothing of temptations, faults, lights or darkness. Spiritual tradition, especially monastic tradition, calls this the opening of conscience or the manifestation of thoughts. One is not guided halfway: a guide to whom one lies or whom one manipulates cannot lead anywhere. This openness presupposes real trust — which justifies all the more the care taken in choosing well.
Docility is not servility
The second disposition is docility: the readiness to receive counsel, to be corrected, and not to assume one knows everything better than one's guide. But docility is not servility. The directed person keeps his conscience and freedom: he never abdicates personal responsibility, and he is bound to obey nothing contrary to faith or morals. Spiritual direction, outside religious vows, establishes no absolute obedience: it proposes, clarifies, counsels — it does not command the conscience.
Regularity, the condition of fruit
The third disposition is constancy. Like every deep work, direction requires continuity: preparing meetings, returning regularly, putting into practice what has been discerned, giving an account of fruits and difficulties. An episodic direction, abandoned at the first dryness, bears little fruit. It is over time that what the soul alone could not untangle is gradually loosened.
What to remember
To the question "How should one choose a spiritual director?" Catholic tradition gives a wisdom that is both demanding and reassuring:
- Seek a guide who unites charity, knowledge and prudence (St. Francis de Sales), who is experienced in the interior life (St. John of the Cross), and above all judicious and experienced according to St. Teresa of Avila — learning being supplementable from learned persons. If one of these qualities is gravely lacking, "there is danger."
- Ask God first in prayer, then seek by human means: parish, religious communities, retreat houses, advice from serious Christians.
- Test before committing, then hold firm through duration and regularity — without changing according to moods.
- Flee the director who takes God's place: the one who demands blind obedience, creates dependence, mixes authority and conscience. The good guide leads to God and steps aside; the bad one gets in the way.
- Do your part: transparency, docility without servility, fidelity. Direction is a work of two.
The director is neither an intellectual mentor, nor a therapist, nor a guru: he is a faithful friend, a companion on the road who walks beside you toward God — like the angel Raphael beside young Tobias. Well chosen, he is one of the greatest helps of the Christian life. "Whoever has found one has found a treasure."
Further reading
Notes and References
St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, canto III (commentary). French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J. (same edition, on Wikisource).
1 30St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4, 1619 text (Boulenger 1909 ed., p. 55 of the scan): "And for this, choose one among a thousand, says Avila; and I say among ten thousand, for there are fewer than one can say who are capable of this office." The "Avila" mentioned is traditionally identified with St. John of Avila († 1569), proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Benedict XVI in 2012 (the Catholic Encyclopedia gives his birth as 6 January 1500, other sources 1499).
2 19Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2690 (Part IV, art. 3, "Guides for prayer"). Official French text on vatican.va.
3Book of Tobit 5:3-4 (AELF liturgical translation): "And now, my child, seek a trustworthy man to accompany you" (Tobit's words, v. 3); "Tobias went out to seek a man who knew the way, to accompany him to Media" (narrator, v. 4). The formula "seek some man who may guide you," often cited about this passage, is St. Francis de Sales's paraphrase of it (Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4).
4St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part I, ch. 4 ("On the need of a guide for entering and making progress in devotion"), 1619 text (last edition in the author's lifetime; text established by Fernand Boulenger, 1909, on Wikisource). The Périsse frères edition, Lyon-Paris, 1832 (Project Gutenberg n° 53540) modernizes this passage: "Young Tobias, preparing to go to Rages... replied the old man... I say the same to you, dear Philothea: do you sincerely want to set out toward devotion?"
5St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, annotation 15. French cited: trans. Fr. Pierre Jennesseaux, 17th ed., Paris, J. de Gigord, 1913: the rule concerns "the one giving the Exercises" and applies to the very time of the Exercises; outside that time, leading a soul toward a state of life remains legitimate.
6Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1467, on sacramental secrecy: "Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins confessed to him by his penitents, under very severe penalties." This secret, which admits no exceptions, is called the "sacramental seal." See also CCC n. 2490.
7Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1466: the confessor "should have a proven knowledge of Christian behavior, experience of human affairs, respect and sensitivity toward the one who has fallen; he must love the truth, be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, and lead the penitent with patience toward healing and full maturity."
8St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Sentences (Sayings of Light and Love), n. 5. French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J., Les Œuvres spirituelles du Bienheureux Jean de la Croix, 1834 ed. (on Wikisource).
9St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, book II, ch. 22. French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J. (same edition, on Wikisource): "The sovereign of the world so absolutely wills that the spiritual guidance of a man depend on another man like himself..."; "in all things we must attach ourselves to the doctrine of Jesus Christ, of his Church, and of her Ministers."
10Acts of the Apostles 8:31. The Ethiopian eunuch, reading Isaiah without understanding it, answers Philip: "How can I, unless someone guides me?" — a text classically invoked as a Scriptural foundation for spiritual accompaniment.
11Proverbs 11:14: "For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors." See also Pr 15:22 and Pr 24:6.
12St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4, citing Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 6:14-16: "A faithful friend is a strong protection; whoever has found one has found a treasure."
13The treatise De vita spirituali (attributed to St. Vincent Ferrer; the Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Vincent Ferrer," lists it among his writings) recommends relying on a director rather than on one's own efforts alone, instead of seeking perfection by oneself.
14St. Philip Neri: had as confessor Persiano Rosa — it was with him that he founded in 1548 the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity — and was himself an indefatigable director of souls through confession (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Philip Neri").
15St. Francis de Sales: had as spiritual director the Jesuit Antonio Possevino during his law studies in Padua, and was himself the director of many souls, notably through his letters of direction (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Francis de Sales").
16St. Teresa of Avila: resorted to the most spiritual confessors and directors of her time — St. Francis Borgia, St. Peter of Alcantara, then Dominicans (notably Pedro Ibáñez and Domingo Báñez), Jesuits and other priests — and herself guided many souls, including her brother Lorenzo (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Teresa of Avila"; see also her Life, ch. 5 and 13).
17St. Ignatius of Loyola: at Manresa (1522), under the direction of his confessor, he shaped the Exercises and "began to teach them to others"; in his crisis of scruples, he deferred to obedience toward his confessor (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Ignatius of Loyola" and "Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius").
18St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4, 1619 text: "He must be full of charity, knowledge and prudence: if one of these three parts is lacking, there is danger."
20St. Teresa of Avila, Life Written by Herself (Libro de la vida), ch. 13. Spanish: "Mas si no se pueden hallar estas tres cosas juntas, las dos primeras importan mas, porque letrados pueden procurar para comunicarse con ellos cuando tuvieren necesidad." French cited: Arnaud d'Andilly trans., Œuvres très complètes, Migne ed., Paris, 1840, vol. I.
21St. Teresa of Avila, Life, ch. 5. Spanish: "gran daño hicieron a mi alma confesores medio letrados... He visto por espiriencia que es mijor, siendo virtuosos y de santas costumbres, no tener ningunas, que tener pocas... y buen letrado nunca me engañó." French (d'Andilly trans., Migne 1840): "the half-learned did my soul such harm that I learned by experience that it is better to have confessors with no learning at all, provided they are virtuous and of good morals..."
22St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, canto III (commentary). French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J. (same edition, on Wikisource). It is this passage that the Catechism (n. 2690) summarizes by asking for a director who is "learned and prudent," but also experienced.
23Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2690 (official French text, vatican.va), citing St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love — noted "stanza 3" in the Catechism ("llama stanza 3"; "canto III" in the 1834 Maillard trans.) — to recall that the director must be "learned and prudent," but also experienced.
24Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2690: "Those, men and women, who are so endowed are true servants of the living tradition of prayer." The text therefore does not reserve spiritual direction to clerics.
25St. Catherine of Siena, a simple Dominican tertiary, advised through her Lettere the popes and cardinals of her time — notably Pope Gregory XI, whom she urged to bring the papacy back to Rome, then Urban VI after the schism (cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Catherine of Siena").
26St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, I, 4, 1619 text: one must "pray to God with great insistence" to obtain this guide, then, having obtained him, "remain firm and seek no other." (The instruction "Do not lightly change confessors...," sometimes cited in this connection, is found in II, 19 and concerns the confessor, not the director.)
27St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, canto III (commentary). French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J. (same edition, on Wikisource). The saint then develops each of these three "blind ones" in the following paragraphs of the commentary (this edition divides the Living Flame into four cantos, themselves divided into numbered paragraphs).
28St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, canto III (commentary), citing Lk 11:52. French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J. (same edition, on Wikisource): "they are like stones and like bars of iron at the gate of Heaven." (The Spanish says only tranca y tropiezo: the "of iron" comes from the French translations.)
29St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, annotation 15 (Jennesseaux trans., 1913, same reference): the principle — letting God act immediately on the soul without inserting oneself — is applied here, by extension, to every spiritual director.
31Letter of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith dated 22 November 2024 (with the approval of Pope Francis, made public on 25 November 2024): creation of a joint working group with the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, chaired by Archbishop Filippo Iannone, tasked with examining the possibility of a canonical delict of "spiritual abuse" and presenting concrete proposals.
32Audience "Foglio" of 10 October 2025 on vatican.va: Leo XIV confirms Archbishop Iannone at the head of the group ("This group is working fruitfully"); progress report at the end of October 2025: work is progressing but the delict remains to be defined (The Pillar, 28 October 2025). As of the date of this correction (4 October 2026), no promulgated text has been made public.
33Code of Canon Law (1983), can. 630: § 1 "Superiors are to recognize the freedom due to members concerning the sacrament of penance and the direction of conscience, with the discipline of the institute remaining intact"; § 4 "Superiors are not to hear the confessions of their subjects, unless the subjects spontaneously request it"; § 5 "superiors are forbidden to induce them in any way to make an opening of conscience to them." Official French text on vatican.va.
34Code of Canon Law (1983), can. 240, § 2: "In decisions to be made concerning the admission of seminarians to orders or their dismissal from the seminary, the opinion of the spiritual director may in no case be sought, nor that of the confessors." Official French text on vatican.va.
35St. John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, canto III (commentary). French cited: trans. Fr. Jean Maillard, S.J. (same edition, on Wikisource): "Those, then, who are not sufficiently enlightened in these divine ways must welcome souls submitted to their direction consulting others; [...] they must even advise them to take other spiritual fathers, when they no longer profit under their direction."
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