Juana Vázquez Gutiérrez

The beaterio of Santa María de la Cruz, located in Cubas de la Sagra, had been established following Marian apparitions that occurred in March 1449 to a young girl named Inés Martínez. Under Juana's impetus, this community of Franciscan tertiaries became structured and developed. In 1509, the beaterio was officially transformed into a monastery of the Tercera Orden Regular (Third Order Regular of St. Francis), and Juana de la Cruz, although she was not yet 28 years old, was elected abbess of the community on May 3, 1509.

In 1510, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, Archbishop of Toledo, granted her an extraordinary privilege, unprecedented for a woman: he annexed the parish of Cubas de la Sagra to the monastery and appointed Juana as 'párroco' (parish priest) of the parish. This exceptional title was confirmed by a bull from Pope Julius II. Although she was not ordained as a priest and a priest was tasked with administering the sacraments, Juana assumed full responsibility for the temporal, financial, and spiritual administration of the parish.

Endowed with an exceptional charisma, Juana also received authorization to preach publicly. For thirteen years, she delivered prophetic sermons during long mystical ecstasies. Her sermons were transcribed by her secretary, Sister María Evangelista (who reportedly learned to read and write miraculously for this task), and gathered in the Libro del conorte (or Conhorte). Her reputation for holiness and wisdom attracted many illustrious visitors to the monastery, including Emperor Charles V, Cardinal Cisneros, and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (the 'Great Captain').

In 1524, Juana was afflicted with deforming rheumatoid arthritis, which caused her terrible physical suffering. In 1527, she was the victim of slander orchestrated by the sub-vicaress of the monastery, Sister Eufrasia, who coveted her position. Removed from her duties as abbess by the Franciscan provincial, Juana accepted this trial with profound humility. In 1528, after the death of the new abbess and the discovery of the falsity of the accusations, her sisters unanimously re-elected her as abbess. She retained this position despite her illness until her death, which occurred on May 3, 1534, the very day of her 53rd birthday.

From the moment of her death, Juana de la Cruz was venerated by the people as "La Santa Juana." Her body was found incorrupt several years after her death, which reinforced her reputation for holiness. The informative process for her beatification opened in 1614/1619, and she was declared venerable on May 4, 1630, by the ecclesiastical tribunal. However, the process was interrupted due to the loss of the original documents required by the Vatican and the reforms of Urban VIII regarding immemorial cult (which required 100 years of uninterrupted cult, whereas only 96 years had passed since her death).

In 1977, the original documents of her cause were found in the Vatican archives, which allowed the process to be relaunched. The cause was officially reopened in 1996. In 1999, the theologian Inocente García de Andrés located the original manuscripts of her sermons at the Escorial library, renewing interest in her figure. On March 18, 2015, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing her heroic virtues, officially confirming her status as venerable.

On November 25, 2024, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree confirming the immemorial cult of the Venerable Juana de la Cruz, thereby declaring her blessed through the process of equipollent beatification (without a physical miracle being formally required, due to her uninterrupted popular veneration for nearly five centuries). Her liturgical feast is set for May 3 (the day of her birth and death). The Diocese of Getafe (to which Cubas de la Sagra belongs today) has set her liturgical memorial for May 5, to be celebrated officially for the first time in 2026.

The spirituality of Juana de la Cruz is deeply Christocentric and Marian. It is marked by the imitation of the suffering Christ, having received the stigmata of the Passion in 1508 (which she bore from Good Friday to the Ascension). Her mystical visions, often expressed through poetic and bold images (such as the "castle of blood" or representations of divine love), testify to an intimate union with God.

Juana de la Cruz is studied today as one of the great figures of female spiritual authority in Spain at the dawn of the Golden Age, paving the way for major figures such as Saint Teresa of Avila or Saint John of the Cross. Her literary work, in particular the Libro del conorte, constitutes one of the most important corpora of female preaching of the late European Middle Ages.