The Controversial Ecstasy of Sor María Teresa Aycinena
Alone at the Altar January 9, 2018 Brianna Leavitt-Alcántara
A chapter examines the case of Sor María Teresa Aycinena, a Carmelite nun who in 1816, during the Independence wars, reportedly experienced stigmata, visions, and mystical crucifixions, with miraculous images formed from her blood. Powerful clergy and lay devotees, many women, supported her as a holy woman, but her revelations fueled controversy and political conflicts. Modern scholars have treated the case only in passing, accepting a liberal nineteenth-century view that she and her followers were conservative pawns. The case reveals how religious motivations shaped clerical support, while the Church's weakened position enabled assertive female claims to spiritual authority and a renewal of popular devotions.