Mother Mariana was blessed by saint Teresa while she was a little girl. The saintly doctor of the Church Teresa imparted to the future Recollect foundress some of her mystical gifts. There is a clear parallelism in the writings of these two Spanish reformers. Just like Saint Teresa, Mother Mariana wrote an autobiography, some constitutions, a commentary on the Song of Songs and an epistolary. Moreover, the mystical depth of Saint Teresa and Mother Marian is comparable according to experts.
Mystic, Reformer and Foundress
In the early hours of 15 April 1638, Mother Mariana of Saint Joseph died in Madrid, surrounded by her nuns. As a child she had met Saint Teresa of Jesus. Mother Mariana was born on 5 August 1568 where the Saint of Avila was to die: in Alba de Tormes (Salamanca). And, like Mother Teresa, she became a nun, and later a reformer and foundress.
The Recollection or the reform of Augustinians began in Castille both for the friars and nuns in 1588. The following year, the first Recollect convent of friars was founded in Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), and there was also an attempt to start the Recollect movement among the nuns under the guidance of Saint Alphonse of Orozco. Nevertheless it did not flourish. Thus at the beginning of the XVII century, the provincial Agustin Antolinez made another attempt. As she was following the instructions of the provincial, on 16 April 1603, Mother Mariana left the Augustinian Convent in Ciudad Rodrigo (Salamanca) to pave the way of the first Recollect foundation in Eibar (Guipuzcoa). Other monasteries were also founded in Medina del Campo (1604), Valladolid (1606), Palencia (1610), and finally in Madrid (Santa Isabel in 1611 and La Encarnación in 1612). Mother Mariana had the unconditional support of King Philip III and his wife Queen Margarita, who founded and supported these two convents in Madrid.
Personally, Mother Mariana of Saint Joseph founded only some six convents, even though during her lifetime she directed the foundation of some other monasteries. At present, these convents consider her as foundress, and some 500 Augustinian Recollect nuns await the publication of her writings. These nuns are presently distributed in 46 monasteries in Spain, Mexico, United States, Brazil, Philippines and Kenya.