Book description
News of María of Ágreda's exceptional attributes spread from her
cloistered convent in seventeenth-century Ågreda (Spain) to the court
in Madrid and beyond. Without leaving her village, the abbess impacted
the kingdom, her church, and the New World; Spanish Hapsburg king
Felipe IV sought her spiritual and political counsel for over
twenty-two years. Based upon her transcendent visionary experiences,
Sor María chronicled the life of Mary, mother of Jesus of Nazareth, in
Mystical City of God, a work the Spanish Inquisition
temporarily condemned. In America, reports emerged that she had
miraculously appeared to Jumano Native Americans - a feat corroborated
by witnesses in Spain, Texas, and New Mexico, where she is honored
today as the legendary "Lady in Blue." Lauded in Spain as
one of the most influential women in its history, and in the United
States as an inspiring pioneer, Sor María's story will appeal to
cultural historians and to women who have struggled for equanimity
against all odds.
Marilyn Fedewa's biography of this fascinating woman integrates
voluminous autobiographical, historical, and literary sources
published by and about María of Ágreda. With liberal access to Sor
María's papal delegate in Spain and convent archives in Ágreda, Fedewa
skillfully reconstructs a historical and spiritual backdrop against
which Sor María's voice may be heard.
"Marilyn Fedewa has written a stirring portrait of María of
Ágreda, a brilliant . . . remarkable player in major spiritual and
secular events of [her] age." - Kenneth A. Briggs, former
religion editor for the New York Times
"A fascinating biography of an extraordinary woman told from the
perspective of her 17th-century Spanish religious culture." -
Clark A. Colahan, author of Visions of Sor María de Ágreda:
Writing Knowledge and Power
Marilyn H. Fedewa has served as vice president of
Olivet College, Michigan, and at the director level within Michigan
State University's development office. Her publications include
numerous articles about María of à greda and coauthorship of Man
in Motion, Emil Lockwood's biography.
