Maria de Agreda
Encyclopedia
Ágreda
Ágreda is a town located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain.Ágreda is the regional services center in the Northeast of the province of Soria. Its abundant heritage as well as the local fiestas of the Virgin, and the Archangel Michael attract a large number of tourists.-History:In the...
, a town located in the province of Soria
Soria (province)
Soria is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico areaIt is bordered by the provinces of La Rioja, Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Segovia, and Burgos....
, Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. She was the daughter of Don Francisco Coronel and his wife Catalina de Arana; all the members of her family were powerfully influenced by the religious fervor so prevalent in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in that period. A devout practitioner of quiet prayer
Mental prayer
Mental prayer is a form of prayer recommended in the Catholic Church whereby one loves God through dialogue, meditating on God's words, and contemplation of his face. It is a time of silence focused on God...
, she was known to experience religious ecstasy
Religious ecstasy
Religious ecstasy is an altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently accompanied by visions and emotional/intuitive euphoria...
after receiving the sacraments.
She is credited in her book Mystical City of God (Spanish: Mistica Ciudad de Dios, Vida de la Virgen María)
Mystical City of God
The Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda or María de Ágreda.According to María de Ágreda, the book was, to a considerable extent, dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself as the title suggests; Also, the book...
with receiving directly from the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
a lengthy revelation, consisting of 8 books (6 volumes), about the terrestrial and heavenly life of Blessed Mary and her relationship with the Triune God
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, the doings and Mysteries performed by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
as God
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
-Man
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in flesh and in Spirit
Holy Spirit (Christianity)
For the majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is Almighty God...
, with extensive detail, in a narrative that covers the New Testament time line but accompanied with doctrines given by the Holy Mother on how to acquire true sanctity.
She is credited by having contributed in the evangelization of what is known today as Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
by supernaturally appearing to early tribes in the region before official evangelization missions had even begun for that location, in what has been cataloged as bilocation
Bilocation
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...
as she never left the convent she resided for the time being, which adds to other supernatural, and documented phenomena accompanying her history, as levitation
Levitation
Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended by a physical force against gravity, in a stable position without solid physical contact...
during praying, and uncorrupted body even to this day, more than 300 hundred years after her death.
Her writings, attributed by herself to visions and dictations word by word from the Virgin Mary, in perfect and elegant Spanish, contain detail both terrestrial and spiritual, that were either not known or not totally accepted by the time being, as the way the earth looks from the space (from her unpublished 17th Century "Tratado de rendondez de la Tierra", The Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
of Virgin Mary, The Assumption of Mary
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
, the duties of Michael the Archangel and Gabriel the Archangel, meticulous detail on the Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Childhood as well as his Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
, Resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
and Ascension.
She served as the spiritual as well as political advisor of King Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
for more than 22 years. The two maintained a regular correspondence with over 600 letters written to one another.
Life
Her biographer and a contemporary, Bishop Jose Jimenez Samaniego, was a longtime friend of the Coronel family, and records that even as a young girl she was filled with divine knowledge. From her early years, he writes, she was favored by ecstasies and visions and became a noted mysticSpanish mystics
The Spanish Mystics are major figures in the Catholic Reformation of 16th and 17th century Spain. The goal of this movement was to reform the Church structurally and to renew it spiritually...
of her era. At the age of four, María de Ágreda was confirmed by Bishop Don Diego de Yepes, the biographer and last confessor of St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
, because he was so impressed with María's spiritual acumen.
When María was fifteen the whole family adopted the Catholic religious life. Her father, then considered an older man in his early fifties, entered the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
house of San Antonio de Nalda. Her brothers continued their studies toward the priesthood, in Burgos. María, her mother and sister established a Franciscan nunnery through the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception
Congregation of the Immaculate Conception
-Order of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady :Founded in 1484 at Toledo, Spain, by Saint Beatrice of Silva, sister of Blessed Amadeus of Portugal...
in the family house at Ágreda. Later, as enrollment grew, this was replaced by the building still existing. Construction of the new convent facility was begun with only twenty-four reales
Spanish real
The real was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century, but changed in value relative to other units introduced...
(approximately two and a half Spanish dollars at the time) in the convent coffers, supplemented by a donation of 100 reales from a devotee
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
. It was completed in 1633 by voluntary gifts and labor. At the death of her mother, María was appointed president of the convent as locum tenens at the age of twenty-five, after which she was elected by the convent's nuns as abbess. Though the rules required the abbess to be changed every three years, María remained effectively in charge of the Ágreda convent until her death, except for a three year sabbatical in her fifties.
In 1670, five years after her death, Samaniego told how at the age of twenty-two she had been miraculously conveyed to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, to convert a native people, and had made five hundred bilocation
Bilocation
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...
s for that purpose in one year. This was recounted more than 200 years later in the first edition (in 1888) of Michael Muller's book, Catholic Dogma. Throughout her life, María de Ágreda was inclined to the "internal prayer" or "quiet prayer" for which the Franciscans are noted. Like her countrywoman St. Teresa of Avila, these prayerful experiences inevitably led to her ecstasies, including witnessed accounts of levitation. Then, as reports of her mystical excursions to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
proliferated, the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
took notice of her, although she was not proceeded against with severity.
Sor María's importance in religion, Spanish history, and the history of the American Southwest, is based on three grounds:
- She was a prolific author, with fourteen books to her credit. Her signature work, Mystical City of GodMystical City of GodThe Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda or María de Ágreda.According to María de Ágreda, the book was, to a considerable extent, dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself as the title suggests; Also, the book...
, the biography of MaryMary (mother of Jesus)Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
, (mother of Jesus), is now frequently studied in college and university programs of Spanish language and culture, for its contribution to Baroque literature. - At the request of King Philip IV of SpainPhilip IV of SpainPhilip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
, she served as his spiritual (and sometimes political) advisor for over twenty-two years, as documented in over 600 letters between them during that period. - Accounts of her mystical apparitions in the American Southwest, as well as inspiring passages in Mystical City of GodMystical City of GodThe Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda or María de Ágreda.According to María de Ágreda, the book was, to a considerable extent, dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself as the title suggests; Also, the book...
, so stirred 17th and 18th century missionaries that they credit her in their own life's work, making her an integral part of the colonial history of the United States.
Reported incorruptibility and sainthood process
An additional mystery associated with the abbess of Ágreda is identified in popular literature. The physical body of the nun is said to be incorruptibleIncorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
, that is, not subject to rot and decay after death. During an opening of her casket in 1909, a cursory scientific examination was performed on the body. In 1989 a Spanish physician named Andreas Medina participated in another examination of Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda as she lay in the convent of the Conceptionist nuns, the same monastery where she had lived in the 17th century. Dr. Medina told investigative journalist Javier Sierra
Javier Sierra
Javier Sierra Albert is a journalist, writer and researcher who studied journalism at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. He is editor consultant of the monthly magazine Más Allá de la Ciencia distributed in Spain and Latin America and he participates in several radio and television programs...
in 1991: "What most surprised me about that case is that when we compared the state of the body, as it was described in the medical report from 1909, with how it appeared in 1989, we realized it had absolutely not deteriorated at all in the last eighty years." Purportedly, complete photographic and other evidence was obtained by investigators before her casket was re-sealed. Now, her incorrupt
Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
body can be visited in the Church of the Convent of Ágreda.
Regarding her status as a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church, there is much history. Less than ten years after her death, María de Jesús de Ágreda was declared as Venerable
Venerable
The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
by Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X , born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to 22 July 1676.-Early life:Emilio Altieri was born in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a Venetian lady...
, in honor of her "heroic life of virtue." And, although the process of beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
was opened in 1673, it has not been completed as of now because of various misinterpretations of her writings (to the extent that Mystical City of God
Mystical City of God
The Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda or María de Ágreda.According to María de Ágreda, the book was, to a considerable extent, dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself as the title suggests; Also, the book...
was temporarily placed on the Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
in 1681). Therefore her status remains as "Venerable" (i.e., not "Blessed" as in someone who is "beatified," or "Saint," as in someone who has been canonized). In recent years, however, after the 400th anniversary of her birth in 2002, there have been renewed efforts internationally by several marian groups to move the beatification process forward.
In popular culture
The legacy of María de Ágreda is celebrated in a variety of venues today. The city of San Angelo, TexasSan Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
credits her as a significant pioneering force behind the establishment of early Texas missions. Jumano Native Americans reminisce about her role in their survival, and her possible connection to the legend of Texas's state flower, the bluebonnet. She is featured in a work of fiction, The Lady in Blue ("Dama azul"), by Javier Sierra (Atria Books, 2005/07, ISBN 1-4165-3223-4), as well as in a new, popularly-written biography, Maria of Agreda: Mystical Lady in Blue (University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
Press, 2009).
Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie , is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century...
mentions being compelled to read María de Ágreda's book, Mystical City of God
Mystical City of God
The Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda or María de Ágreda.According to María de Ágreda, the book was, to a considerable extent, dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself as the title suggests; Also, the book...
, during his imprisonment in the Venice prison "i Piombi" as a means of the clergy to psychologically torture the prisoners. He called it the work of an "overheated imagination of a devout, melancholy, Spanish virgin locked up in a Convent." In it, Casanova argues that a captive's mind can get inflamed with such aberrant ideas to the point of madness, which was purportedly the purpose of having been given the book to read.
External links
- María de Jesús de Ágreda | Official home page of her abbey in Spain (English and Spanish)
- Online, Abridged Version of "The Mystical City of God"
- Online unabridged versions of the complete "Mystical City of God" - St. Joseph Publications (English and Spanish)
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Abridged and 4-Volume Works of María de Ágreda in archive.org
- A detailed account of Ágreda's (also known as The Blue Nun) appearances in 17th century America