The Incorruptible Body of Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda
Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda (1602-1665) is one of the greatest miracle workers the Church has ever seen. She bilocated to America over 500 times and converted many Native American Indians to Christianity. She was known to the Indians as “the lady in blue” because of the blue mantle worn as part of the Franciscan order of which she belonged. Great Catholic missionaries and explorers, such as Fr. Junipero Serra and Fr. Kino write about Ven. Mary of Agreda and her work in America.
In 1909, it was discovered that Mary of Agreda’s body was perfectly preserved and her beautiful countenance sealed in a glass reliquary/casket can be witnessed today in Agreda, Spain.
She’s most recognized for her four-volume work, The Mystical City of God, the life of Our Lady and Our Lord given to Ven. Mary by Our Lady herself. On two separate occasions under two different directors, she was ordered to burn the hand-written books and she obeyed. Twice, she under went the Spanish Inquisition for her books and bilocations and was found praiseworthy. Under the good direction of Fr. De Fuenmayor, Ven. Mary was ordered to write it all down for a third time.
The great French Catholic Benedictine scholar Prosper Louis Pascal Guéranger, OSB (1805-1875) carefully studied many years and wrote some 28 articles the French periodical, L’Univers on Ven. Mary of Agreda and her great spiritual work. In Article 12 (Dec. 19, 1858), he gives the decisions of Popes Innocent XI, Alexander VIII, Clement XI, and Benedict XIII allowing and promoting the book to be read by all the faithful. He cites as his reference the 510 folio pages on the Cause for the Beatification of Ven. Mary which he personally studied.
In 1900, Pope Leo XIII granted an Apostolic Blessing to a Canadian lay woman who informed the pope of printing a book of all the instructions found at the end of each chapter in The Mystical City of God. Pope Leo XIII then ordered the book to be printed on the presses of the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda in Rome. The book titled Sublime doctrine de la Mère de Dieu sur les vertus chrétiennes (extrait de la ‘Cité mystique de Dieu’ par le Vén. Marie d’Agreda- Rome, Impr.de la Sacrée Congrégation de la Propagande, 1900. vii + 403pp.+ frontispiece.), can be purchased at:
It’s my opinion that The Mystical City of God is the greatest spiritual writing next to Scripture. It’s the most powerful, the most beautiful, and the most captivating writing of all time. The four-volume work appears to me to surpass all the writings of all the doctors of the Church in theology and spirituality. The only reasonable explanation for this masterpiece is that it truly came from Our Lady in Heaven.
Tim Duff has made a fine translation of The Mystical City God and has it for sale at a reasonable price at http://www.neemcog.com/PurchaseTheNEE.htm He also has some other fine material on the four-volume work on the same website. I thank him for the information on the papal approvals in this article.
For further reading on Ven. Mary of Agreda, Margaret C. Galitzin has four fantastic articles at the Tradition in Action website at: http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/B_013_Agreda_1.html
Speray's Catholicism in a Nutshell 