María Justa de Jesús (January 6, 1667 - 1723) was a Spanish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

and mystic who was tried as a witch during the Inquisition.

Early life

She was born in La Victoria de Acentejo on the north of the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

in the Spanish Canary Islands. She trained as a Franciscan in the Saint Joseph Convent in

La Orotava La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, ...

. Her life was involved in mysticism and controversy.Los 4 místicos tinerfeños
(The 4 Tenerife mystics), https://diariodeavisos.elespanol.com/2017/03/galeria-misticos-tinerfenos/ (in Spanish)

Career

The Holy Inquisition tried her as a

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

. She was accused of practicing Molinist doctrines.Los conventos de La Orotava. Manuel Hernández González.
/ref> It was hinted that the relationship with her confessor was not appropriate for a religious person. Her biographer and confessor, Andrés de Abreu, burned the biography he had written about her. However, Dominican friar Jose Herrera said that among her virtues was to give sight to the blind, to make the deaf hear, the mute to speak, heal the lame, heal diseases and expel

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including fiction, comics, film, t ...

. Sr. Maria Justa healed the sick by transferring to her person the evils and diseases that afflicted them.

Shamanic Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spiri ...

priests in other cultures used analogous techniques to cure convalescents. That similarity fed the suspicions of those who called her an "'' alumbrada''". During these healings, the nun suffered multiple ailments, covering her body in sores and elevating her body temperature, which brought her to the brink of death.

Death

Sister Maria Justa died in 1723. According to the chronicles of the time, her body showed signs of sanctity, such as flexibility, pleasant fragrances and fluidity of her blood. After her death, the Franciscan Order in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

conducted a process of

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

that was later halted.

''Alumbrados''

Her case was ascribed to the phenomenon of the ''"

Alumbrados The (, ''illuminated''), also called the , were the practitioners of a mystical form of Christianity in the Crown of Castile during the 15th–16th centuries. Some were only mildly heterodox, but others held views that were clearly heretical, ...

"'' that arose in small Castilian towns two centuries earlier. These were people who professed doctrines considered heretical by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, believing that union with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

came only through mystical experiences and private prayer, without the need for Church

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

.Weber, Nicholas. "''Illuminati (Alumbrados.)''". Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-04.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Justa de Jesus, Sister Maria 1667 births 1723 deaths 17th-century Christian mystics 18th-century Christian mystics People from Tenerife Franciscan nuns Franciscan mystics Franciscan spirituality 17th-century Spanish nuns Spanish Inquisition Stigmatics Burials in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife 18th-century Spanish nuns Witch trials in Spain People accused of witchcraft

Early life

Career

Death

''Alumbrados''

See also

References