The Visionary Ecstasies of Maria de Ágreda

Record summary

Maria de Ágreda, a Franciscan abbess, claimed visions of the life of the Virgin and described alleged bilocation to evangelize Indigenous peoples in New Mexico. Her Mystical City of God became a major devotional work but also provoked theological and inquisitorial scrutiny. The case permits comparison of visionary autobiography, colonial narratives, female religious authority, and censorship. The bilocation reports are especially controversial and were recorded through complex processes of confession, biography, and publication; they should not be treated as established historical or paranormal fact.