by Marilyn H. Fedewa
The link between a 17th century Spanish mystic and a 21st century popular icon is not as far-out as it might first seem. Mel Gibson, in preparation for making his new film, The Passion of the Christ, read not only biblical records of the last 12 hours of Christ's life, but also other background works, including Mystical City of God by Venerable María de Jesús of Ágreda, Spain.
“Mel probably read every book on the passion written since the Middle Ages,” Jesuit William Fulco told this author. Fulco should know—he translated Gibson’s film into Latin and Aramaic and was a frequent visitor to the film’s set, when not teaching Ancient Mediterranean Studies at L.A.’s Loyola Marymount University. According to him, Gibson relied primarily on the biblical accounts of Christ’s death when writing the actual script, but he did read Ágreda’s work and many others during his early research.
Mystical City of God—all 2,700 pages of it penned by hand in the mid-1600s—was finally abridged to 794 pages in 1978. This is most likely the version Gibson read. Like the original, it chronicles the life of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, and it is based on visions of Mary and private revelations that María de Ágreda had over a period of many years.
In the process of writing about Mary, María de Ágreda also shows Christ’s own life in rich detail, including his passion and death. Since Ágreda’s book is written from Mary’s point of view, it touchingly portrays the loving presence of Mary throughout her son’s ordeal. This is an important element of Mel Gibson’s film, as Mary’s magnetically sorrowful eyes follow the repeated tortures endured by her son.
Although the little village of Ágreda lies in a remote area of northeastern Spain, a growing awareness of María de Ágreda’s spiritual wisdom attracted many well-known figures of the day to the cloistered Convent of the Conception, including the King of Spain. And—incredible as it may seem during those pre-internet days— María de Ágreda was even known as far away as New Mexico as the supernatural “Lady in Blue.”
This unusual experience stemmed from a desire María de Ágreda had at an early age—to go to the New World as a missionary. At the time, however, women were discouraged from traveling that far, and eventually she became a cloistered nun who never (physically) left her birthplace of Ágreda. Yet her persistent missionary zeal often surfaced in ecstasy after Communion, resulting in her reported supernatural appearances to the North American Jumano Indians.
By 1630, news of her apparitions reached Padre Alonso de Benavides, director of Franciscan missions in New Mexico. Benavides questioned many people in America, and then went back to Spain to investigate. After reporting to his superior in Madrid, he went on to Ágreda. There he identified Sor María as the Lady in Blue, both from the Jumanos’ descriptions of her, as well as her descriptions of them, including their chieftain, whose distinctive features she described in detail.
Over the years María de Ágreda developed an unlikely cadre of friends and confidantes, including Hapsburg monarch and Defender of the Faith, King Felipe IV. She advised the king on spiritual and worldly matters for twenty-two years, until her death in 1665. Their collected correspondence consists of over 600 confidential letters. One can almost imagine, if Mel Gibson had lived in 17th century Spain, that he too would have tracked her down in Ágreda.
Given the unfair criticism of Gibson’s film as anti-Semitic, it is not surprising that the “Passion’s” opponents also claim that the authors of Gibson’s background reading were similarly prejudiced. Yet it is unlikely Gibson would have encountered anti-Semitism in Ágreda’s works. Like her countrywoman Teresa of Avila, Ágreda’s own ancestors were Jewish. She held them in high regard, despite the danger of doing so in the paranoid days of the Spanish Inquisition.
Known for her “energía bondadosa”—kind-hearted energy— María de Ágreda was nevertheless very critical of herself and others when it came to matters of religion. And, of course, she wrote in the idiom of her time. She named first-century Jews and Christians as they would later be identified, whereas in the first century, even Christ’s closest followers were Jews. Despite such awkward terminology, Ágreda criticized Jews, Christians and Romans alike for their parts in Christ’s death. On this point, she and Mel Gibson are very much in agreement, blaming all, and at the same time reminding us that Christ died to save us all, and prayed for forgiveness for all of our sins.
There are other notable similarities between Gibson and Ágreda’s treatment of the Passion. As in the film, Mystical City of God describes Mary meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary, Mary’s wishing she could die in her son’s place, the insidious presence of Satan throughout the proceedings, and the gentle nun’s pained descriptions of ceaseless blows and shredded flesh. More importantly, however, María de Ágreda provides countless images of Mary’s unflinching strength, her motherly love for her Son, and the unbreakable though often unspoken bond between them.
“The Passion of the Christ,” of course, represents Gibson’s unique vision of Christ’s suffering and death. Yet while mainly holding to his perception of biblical accounts, it is heartwarming to note the filmmaker’s exhaustive research, including his exploration into the remarkable works of María de Jesús of Ágreda, Spain.
For more information on María de Ágreda, visit Marilyn Fedewa’s website at www.cambridgeconnections.net
Copyright 2004 Marilyn H. Fedewa
Published in MiGente Magazine March 2004
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