The work of Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda, Mystical City of God, is a revelatory work of her time, and has been weighted down with an argument that, in part, put the brakes on her cause for beatification. Questions about this process stir important theological debates between the presentation style of Sor María’s work and the revelations about the Virgin Mary contained in her work. A conscientious and thorough analysis of the contents of her manuscript—most important to the cause of the Venerable—comprises the doctoral thesis published recently by the Franciscan priest, Ángel Martínez Moñux. This study presents its premise in the title (María, mística ciudad de Dios: una mariología interactiva—translated to Maria, mystical city of God: a marian interaction). It has taken 33 years to complete, and sheds light on the motivation behind the 400th anniversary celebrations of the birth of the Venerable.

Moñux’s thesis is divided into two parts. In the first, he offers characteristics of Mystical City and the history of the era in which it was written, so the reader will be better able to understand the latter material. In the second part, he maintains more of a theological character, and concentrates on aspects related to Sor María’s treatment of the life of the Virgin Mary. “Sor María’s is ‘a vision most relative and topical today’,” maintains the author of this doctoral thesis.

It is precisely this outlook—the essence of a revealed work’s origin and content—that unravels one of the principal arguments weighting down the beatification of the religious all these years after her death. Moreover, the scholar explains another argument of more academic nature, that has confronted the theological position of the Dominicans and the Franciscans. It is the definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, a dogma accepted in actuality by the Catholic Church since the 17th century, though not officially endorsed until 1854.

“Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda embodies the essence of maternal qualities,” says Moñux. “She is an unencumbered realist with great human and mystical sensibility.” In his work María, mística ciudad de Dios: una mariología interactiva, the author postulates that the content of Mystical City of God has slowed down the beatification of Sor María for centuries. Padre Moñux shows that a critical look now at the theological content of Sor María’s writing will call that delay into question, because much of the difficulty may be attributed to problems in interpreting her mystical literary style. “We have been mandated by Rome,” he said to the provincial and diocesan centennial organizing committee, “to assemble all the material about the research and investigations of Sor María’s work.” The scholar of the Venerable expressed confidence that the centennial celebrations will give new life to the beatification process, and will also increase awareness of the significant contributions of the Venerable.