Maria of Agreda

Mystical Lady in Blue

By: Marilyn H. Fedewa

Narrated by: Kelley Hazen

Stories of Maria of Agreda's exceptional attributes spread from her cloistered convent in seventeenth-century Agreda, Spain, to the court in Madrid, and beyond. Without leaving her village, the abbess impacted the kingdom, her church, and the New World. Based upon her transcendent visionary experiences, Sor Maria chronicled the life of Mary, mother of Jesus of Nazareth, in the Mystical City of God. This work was temporarily condemned during the Spanish Inquisition.

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 known as the legendary "Lady in Blue."

Today, Sor Maria is lauded in Spain as one of the most influential women in its history, and in the United States as an inspiring pioneer. Fedewa's biography of this spirited abbess integrates voluminous autobiographical, historical, and literary sources published by and about Maria of Agreda.

©2009 University of New Mexico Press (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"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)

"Beyond any doubt, this book by Dr. Fedewa is an outstanding contribution to the researching of the Catholic heritage of the American Southwest, especially that of Texas and New Mexico. This work is one that should bring the author many accolades." ( Southwestern Historical Quarterly)

Devout faith

Amazing story about Maria’s miraculous journeys and literary writings. I am perplexed as to why she is not a saint. I feel a longing to pray to her that she may heal the fractured people of my state of New Mexico and of the Vatican.

Compelling and Fascinating religious figure

Where does Maria of Agreda rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've always been a fan of religion and this book is a fascinating read and look into the life of special religious figure. Her courage and steadfast resolve shined throughout this book and led the reader down a path of excitement and deep thought. Narration was perfect with the ambient theme of the story and allowed the story to flow easily through my ears, often making me wish the drive home was longer.

Any additional comments?

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

Fantastic bio of a significant religious figure

"Maria of Agreda" totally took me by surprise. I have never before read, nor frankly been interested in, biographies about historical religious figures. But something about the description tugged at me and so I tried something different. Am I ever so glad that I did!

My initial fears of the text being some scholarly tome full of abstract concepts and references were swiftly allayed. This is a fully accessible, well-structured history that was crafted for the public at large. We discover early on how the author, Marilyn Fedewa, became acquainted with Maria of Agreda's writings, from whence a quest for knowledge was born that would lead Fedewa to Maria's homeland in northeastern Spain. There she interviewed modern-day members of Maria's convent, toured the region of Maria's home in the 1600's, and uncovered documents not yet translated into English that would ultimately help to write this book.

Maria seems to have led a fairly simple and religion-focused early life. Then Maria's mother experienced a vision and swayed the family to convert their ancestral home into a convent. Maria joined this convent as a teen and would never occasion to leave her village throughout the entirety of her life, except via a multitude of prayer and meditation-induced "journeys" that transported her psychic/spiritual self into the Southwest colonial U.S. where she was purported to have successfully converted its native peoples. The indelible mark she bestowed upon the natives would become the subject of gossip and scrutiny throughout Maria's life and after her death, as also would her writings about Mary, Mother of God, and the immaculate conception. As an adult who was by now abbess of her convent, Maria underwent 11 days of interrogation by an officer of the Spanish Inquisition who tried but failed to diminish Maria's spiritual travels and her writings with questions and accusations stemming from false rumors and gossip spread over many years. Maria enjoyed a special sort-of mentorship with King Philip IV of Spain, with whom she carried on a years-long correspondence that lasted up to her passing. The impact and significance of Maria's writings have long been a point of much debate and contention, not only in Maria's lifetime, but in the hundreds of years since her death, and even now.

Because this my first biography on a significant historical religious figure, I don't have anything to compare with "Maria of Agreda". But I can say that I was moved, fascinated, and inspired by the story that Fedewa laid before me. This might not be a story for everyone, but even if you can only appreciate that Maria spoke her truth and stood by it during a day-in-age where such boldness could lead to imprisonment and/or execution, I believe there's an opportunity for this book to touch many hearts and minds if given the chance.

Narrator, Kelley Hazen, gives a sublime performance with a voice uniquely suited for this book's content. Overall, I highly recommend "Maria of Agreda" and hope to hear more from this author and narrator in the future!

(I was provided a free copy of this audiobook by the narrator in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks to Kelley Hazen for this opportunity!)

Inspiring, thought-provoking

This is a biography of a nun from the 17th century. If you read the forward you discover that the professor that wrote the book experienced quite an epiphany when she decided to write this piece and I have to say I went through the same thing when I listened. I do not consider myself a religious person and this particular choice of material was unusual for me. But as I listened to the story of the life of this young woman who entered the convent as a teenager and never ever left and yet became a major influence to King Philip and all of Spain at the time of the Inquisition. As well as becoming a heroic figure in the New World/US even though she never set foot there. Yet very compelling accounts insist they saw her there. She wrote what she saw and what she believed even though many feared this young woman and were against her. I marvel at how brave she was and true to her beliefs. And of the many many attempts to make her a saint. It is a fascinating and uplifting listen.

Fascinating story!

Any additional comments?

The story is well researched and well written, the narrative flows well over all.
I had never heard of Maria of Agreda before reading "Maria of Agreda: Mystical Lady in Blue", but I'm so glad that I read this book, I found it extremely interesting and found myself asking many questions. It gives a wonderful story how a young girl became a nun.

Thank you for such an awesome book.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

A Fascinating Life of a Beloved Franciscan Abbess

I loved listening to Maria of Agreda: Mystical Lady in Blue. This was a real treat. There is so much to the Mystical Lady in Blue. The timeline of other events that happened during her life was amazing. I found the visitations by her to the Jumano people awe-inspiring. I was familiar with her as the Lady in Blue as this is my religion and I'm from Texas where she's especially held in reverence. I was fascinated to hear about her and the Hapsburgs and Maria Theresa. I've found myself at the Hofburg Palace in Innsbruck where I learned a lot about Maria Theresa. I didn't know the connection at the time so this audiobook was very exciting for me. I think our Holy Mother had a royal bloodline somewhere.

Kelley Hazen's narration was brilliant. She has a lovely voice and did an outstanding job. This is the first time I've listened to her work and hopefully it won't be the last. She was perfect. I do listen to certain audiobooks more than once and this will be one of them.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

excellent book

This book is well written, and very informative. Touched my heart like no other book has.

Great book!

This book was very intriguing and informative! I highly recommend it to any faithful Catholic.

Interesting look at overlooked historical figure

Where does Maria of Agreda rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the first audible book I've listened to, and all other audiobooks I've listened to have been fiction, so ranking is misleading.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Maria of Agreda?

I found the account of the Native people seeing a mystical lady in blue and then identifying a portrait of Maria of Agreda as well as the Moor who said he was converted by a lady in blue and then identifying Maria of Agreda as she walked by with two other nuns at the convent particularly interesting especially considering her well-documented accounts of traveling to other places without leaving the convent. It really raised some interesting questions for me.

What about Kelley Hazen’s performance did you like?

I thought Kelley Hazen was the spot on best choice for the voice for this historical account. Her voice was soothing without at all putting me to sleep, and she added enough emphasis to keep it moving as a story. I ran through the book in three days (despite the over 10 hour length).

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The accounts of Maria's early life were an interesting window into how a young girl became a nun and a mystic. I was amazed at the story of how her parents met and then also how they separated to start different monastic orders. The religious zeal with which people lived their lives in Spain in the 17th century is truly stunning.

Any additional comments?

I am not a Catholic and had never heard of Maria of Agreda before discovering this book. Despite that, I found the story engaging. And while well-researched, it still moved along well as a story. I thought the part with the Inquisition could have been more well-developed as it seemed like there was a lot of danger and then everything was suddenly fine. The same was true for the plot that Maria was somehow implicated in. I was left a little confused and unclear about how it resolved itself.

But overall I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of historical biographies or for people who have an interest in the Catholic Church and their Saints (or how a Saint is Canonized).

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Thought provoking historical listen

Any additional comments?

I must say that I have never heard of Maria before but I am so glad that I have now. Uplifting and inspiring, this story is amazing when you consider that she lived in the 1700s. Her life story is full of true courage and is the epitome of what I would consider saintly though that has yet to be determined. The research was in depth and the narration adds to the enthralling story. A great life told by wonderful narration made this a true pleasure to listen to. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher