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The Inquisition of Franciscaby Francisca de los Apóstoles; Gillian T. W. Ahlgren

Inspired by a series of visions, Francisca de los Apóstoles (1539-after 1578) and her sister Isabella attempted in 1573 to organize a beaterio , a lay community of pious women devoted to the religious life, to offer prayers and penance for the reparation of human sin, especially those of corrupt clerics. But their efforts to minister to the poor of Toledo and to call for general ecclesiastical reform were met with resistance, first from local religious officials and, later, from the Spanish Inquisition. By early 1575, the Inquisitional tribunal in Toledo had received several statements denouncing Francisca from some of the very women she had tried to help, as well as from some of her financial and religious sponsors. Francisca was... more...