Texas Blue Bonnets: A Spiritual Connection
- Fr. Scott Haynes
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Fr. Scott Haynes
Venerable Mary of Jesus de Ágreda
(April 2, 1602 – May 24, 1665)
One of Texas' most significant religious figures never visited the state. She never left her small community in Spain, but she sparked religious fervor from the Concho River to the Rio Grande. María Coronel y de Arana was born in the village of Ágreda, Spain, on April 2, 1602. She was a lovely child, born to outstanding Catholic parents. Maria, barely out of her baby years, shown an uncommon dedication to a life of prayer and piety. Her biographer and contemporary, Most Rev. José Jiménez y Samaniego, a longtime family friend, explained that even as a young girl, she had visions in which she felt that God was instructing her about the sinfulness of the world.[1]
She wanted to join a convent as early as the age of eleven. When she was 12, her parents agreed to let her join the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Tarazona. Before that could happen, Maria's mother had a vision in which God told her to turn their mansion into a monastery. She and her daughter would both be nuns. Her father hoped to join a local monastery, following in the footsteps of his sons, who were already friars. All of this happened within a span of four years.
The Incorrupt Body of the Venerable Mary of Jesus de Ágreda
Maria professed her vows as Sr. Mary of Jesus de Ágreda at the age of 18 in the Order of the Immaculate Conception. Her religious habit was dark cobalt blue. Now a nun, she prayed alone more than ever, becoming even more fervently devout. Her sisters were concerned about her frequent fasting, poor health, and life of severe deprivation. Yet for her, it was a joyful time: she said God had given her a supernatural gift. It was a gift of bilocation. She could be in two places at once. When “transported by the aid of the angels,”[2] she could appear to God's children in other countries and tell them about Jesus.
She stated she initially appeared to the Jumano tribes of modern-day Texas in the 1620s. She performed this for almost ten years, from the age of 18 to 29. And, according to traditions of the Jumano Indians, they confirmed that the Woman in Blue, as they called her, had arrived among them. The first proof came when 50 Jumano Indians arrived on their own at the San Antonio de la Isleta Mission near present-day Albuquerque, asking Franciscan monks to teach them about Jesus.
When questioned how they knew about him, the men explained that the Lady in Blue had come to them and taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She had told them to go west and find holy men who could teach them about the faith and baptize them. According to folklore, they pointed to a portrait of a nun at the mission and said, “She looks like her, but younger.”[3]
The priests were surprised because there were no missions or missionaries in that area of what is now West Texas. They were aware of no nuns who had tried missionary work there. How could this be? The Franciscans decided to accompany the Jumanos home to verify their statements about the Lady in Blue. The mission was led by the Franciscan Friar Juan de Salas in 1629, who visited the Jumano Indians in present-day San Angelo. They discovered that several of the Jumano claimed Sr. Mary of Jesus de Ágreda had been to them numerous times over the years. According to reports, the priests baptized 2,000 Jumanos shortly thereafter.
According to historians Donald Chipman and Denise Joseph, the Jumanos said Maria came to them “like light at sunset… she was a kind and gentle person who spoke ‘sweet’ words to them that they could understand…”[4]
The acclaimed religious historian Carlos E. Castaneda stated that Maria preached in Spanish, but the Jumanos understood her in their language, and when they spoke in their language, she understood them in Spanish.
Rev. Alonso de Benavides, the Franciscan custodian in New Mexico, traveled to Ágreda, Spain, to interview Maria and confirm her genuineness. According to him, she told him things about Texas and the Jumano world that only someone who has been there could know. Her claims of bilocation were regarded genuine at the time, and the Vatican appears to concur now, considering her for canonization.
According to Jumano folklore, "when she [Mary of Ágreda] last appeared, she blessed [the Jumanos] and slowly went away into the hills."[5] The next morning, the land was covered in a covering of unusual flowers of a deep blue color, similar to her habit. These were, they claimed, the first bluebonnets. Perhaps the Jumanos found solace in the fact that these blossoms reappeared year after year, decked in their blue habits, reminding them that the Lady in Blue was always present.
Notes:
[1] Ximénez Samaniego, José. Life of Venerable Sister, Mary of Jesús—D. Ágreda: Poor Clare Nun, Translated by Ubaldus da Rieti (Keller-Crescent Printing and Engraving, 1910).
[2] Robert Plocheck (2005). “Franciscan Missionaries in Texas before 1690.” Texas Almanac. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
[3] Donald E. Chipman and Harriett Denise Joseph, Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas. (Austin: Univeristy of Texas Press, 1999).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
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