"One day there appeared to me an angel beautiful beyond measure. I saw in his hand a long spear at the end of which seemed to be a point of fire. This seemed to strike me several times in the heart, so that it penetrated into me. The pain was so real that I groaned aloud several times, however, it was so sweet that I could not wish to be free of it. No earthly joy can give such fulfillment. When the angel drew his spear, I was left with a great love for God." The famous description of the mystical ecstasy of "transverberation" offered by St. Teresa of Avita is the direct origin of Bernini’s marble group, which faithfully follows the Spanish saint’s words even in terms of the childlike, smiling appearance of the beautiful angel.
