L’incredibile storia di suor María de Ágreda. La monaca che evangelizzò l’America senza uscire dal convento! — Santi e Beati
The incredible story of Sister María de Ágreda. The nun who evangelized America without leaving the convent!
Editrice Shalom
Tempo di lettura: 3 min
Autore: Editrice Shalom
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Get ready for a story that sounds like a paradox, a true mystery that defies the laws of space and time! Imagine a nun, confined throughout her life to the silence of her convent in Spain, capable of becoming one of the most important evangelizers of the New World. It seems impossible, right? And yet, this is the story of Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda. Let’s discover it!
An unexpected encounter in the New World
It all began in 1630, when a Portuguese Franciscan friar, Friar Alonso de Benavides, made an astonishing discovery in the New World. He found Indigenous people displaying crosses made from branches. When he asked them to explain, the Indigenous people told him about a “Lady in Blue” who had taught them how to make the crosses and had spoken to them about God. Friar Benavides was stunned, as this was the first contact between these Indians and the Christian faith.
The investigation and the astonishing discovery
Curious and determined to find out who this mysterious “Lady in Blue” was, Friar Benavides investigated. He asked the natives to describe her. After much research, he managed to identify her: it was Sister María de Jesús, who was staying at the monastery of Ágreda, in Spain. The incredible part? This convent was 15,000 kilometers away, and Sister María had never left it.
The gift of bilocation
But how was this possible? The life of Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda is shrouded in “mystery.” According to the testimonies of the other nuns, Sister María regularly entered trances and recounted her spiritual journeys to unknown lands. Her experiences were so detailed that they included precise descriptions of distant places, climates, and cultures she had never seen before.
This testimony spread rapidly, attracting the attention of the Tribunal of the Holy Office, which investigated. The conclusion? It was bilocation, a mystical gift that allows a person to be physically or spiritually present in two places at the same time.
A mission without borders
Although it was a mystical mission, Sister María’s work had a real impact. The Jumano Indigenous people, who according to sources had never encountered European missionaries, demonstrated that they had received solid religious instruction, to the extent that they asked the Franciscans to send priests to baptize them. This extraordinary event strengthened the belief that Sister María had truly been present among them.
Writer and royal adviser
But Sister María was not only a mystical figure. She was also a prolific writer. Her most famous work, The Mystical City of God, a theological and mystical treatise describing visions of the life of the Virgin Mary. This work, initially prohibited by the Inquisition, was later studied, quickly removed from the Index of Forbidden Books, and now has the Church’s approval.
Moreover, Sister María achieved considerable prestige in political circles as well. King Philip IV had her as his royal adviser. Many letters between the king and the nun have survived, bearing witness to a friendship that began when the king, grieving the loss of his son and heir, sought comfort in Sister María’s words.
A legacy that stands the test of time
Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda remains a mysterious figure in the history of the Church. Her life, an intertwining of contemplation and action, enclosure and mission, mystery and faith, continues to inspire.
A tangible symbol of this extraordinary existence? Sister María’s body is still preserved in the convent where she was abbess. It is on public display and has remained incorrupt since 1665.
Her story reminds us that spirituality can overcome every physical barrier and that there may be dimensions of reality beyond our full understanding.
Did you know the story of Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda? If her story fascinated you and you want to learn more, Sister Maria of Jesus of Ágreda. The Marian mystic of Moncayo will answer all your questions!
