María de Jesús de Ágreda, also known as the “Lady in Blue,” was a prominent 17th-century Spanish nun and mystic.
Her mystical writings include extensive correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain, discussing spiritual matters and her visions.
María de Jesús is recognized for her spiritual writings, including “The Mystical City of God,” which details the life of the Virgin Mary.
Known for her reports of bilocation, where she claimed to appear in the New World while still in Spain, particularly to evangelize Native Americans from 1620 to 1623.
One of the most unique gifts given to her was that of bi-location, traveling from Spain to what was then called “New Spain” (today the U.S.), beginning in 1620, while still remaining in Agreda. On waking from these states, she would have complete recall of details of the geography of the area she visited, including being able to embroider the birds and flowers on vestments. She would also recall meeting the peoples and missionaries where she went. She was reported to have appeared over 500 times to the peoples of this area.
It came as a shock to early Franciscan missionaries who had been sent to this area to evangelize to the natives of what today is the state of New Mexico when, in 1629, the Jumano Indians went to the Friary of San Antonio in Isleta to seek them out, rather than the other way around. The Jumanos said a woman dressed in blue had appeared in their midst and, speaking in their own language, had taught them about the Christian faith and told them to ask for further instruction and baptism from the Franciscan missionaries.
Maria was given special revelations concerning the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, including the bi-location of Mary to Zaragosa, Spain while she was still alive in Jerusalem. Maria recorded her revelations in a book called “The Mystical City of God ‘a life of the Virgin Mary ostensibly based on divine revelations granted to Maria.” It is a massive 2,676 page book, but you might prefer the abridged edition (794 pages) The Mystical City of God: A Popular Abridgement of the Divine History and Life of the Virgin Mother of God.
Her body — exhumed in 1909 and found incorrupt — remains on display in a glass-lidded coffin in Ágreda, in the convent where she served as abbess until her death in 1665.