"There's a lot of marketing surrounding Saint Catherine Thomas."

PalmFasting, sacrificing, walking with a cross on one's back, or wearing a crown of thorns. These are some of the paths that various mystical figures have used to reach what is known as the state of ecstasy, the connection with divinity. Religious figures such as Elisabet Cifre de Colonya, Joana Oliver Andreu, and Sister Anna Maria del Santísimo Sacramento, among many others, are some of the figures that writer Rosa Planas (Palma, 1957) includes in her book Majorcan mystics (Leonard Muntaner), a volume that aims to bring these women and their significance closer to the present day, give visibility to forgotten figures, and reveal a previously unknown dimension of Mallorcan religious culture. "There's a whole element of symbolism that seems abandoned today and that needs to be recovered," Planas claims.

Although the author insists in the book that it's not necessary to distinguish between male and female mysticism, Planas acknowledges that the female figures in our religious history have been forgotten, "except for Saint Catherine Thomas (Valldemossa, 1531), who has always had a strong popular following and there's a whole marketing craze surrounding her. The rest, the majority, have been ignored and completely forgotten, even though many are illustrious daughters of Palma and played an important role in their historical period," Planas explains. She highlights, for example, the case of Alberta Giménez (Pollença, 1837), who modernized teaching among women. "I wanted, even if briefly, to give space to each one, because each one could require four books," she states.

Another of the figures he delves into Majorcan mystics This is that of Sister Ana María del Santísimo Sacramento. This mystic, who practiced fasting and asceticism (a set of practices, such as mortification or meditation, aimed at achieving personal perfection, especially within a religion) from the very beginning, suffered difficulties when she decided to enter the Dominican monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena due to the rejection of the community, which lasted for 1. Once she entered, she fell ill, which caused her to isolate herself: she was locked away without communication with the nuns for years. Later, when her spiritual and intellectual capacities were known, she wrote 94 verses on the Book of Friend and Beloved, by Ramon Llull, which makes her the first Catalan-language writer preserved in Mallorca. In this regard, Planas highlights this fact because, following the influence of Saint Teresa of Jesus, most nuns wrote in Spanish. "These women have an interest beyond the religious; they are founders, creators of languages, innovators, and influencers," she notes.

Mystical Experiences and Witchcraft

Mystical experiences, Planas explains, have always been viewed with suspicion, "they have been viewed with suspicion, not only by religion, but by society as well." "Mystical experiences are difficult to define: although they have been studied and there is theology, they are defined by phenomena that are not rational and that push a person to the limits of their humanity," the writer points out, calling them "paranormal experiences" and emphasizing that this contact can be of a positive spiritual nature—despite the suffering and aspects linked to what was considered witchcraft.

Planas also insists that none of them had an easy life, but rather a complicated one, and that they had a bad time, since on many occasions their consideration as mystics was judged and persecuted, "despite the fact that their goodness and intelligence later prevailed," a fact that changed the view that.

Pain to achieve pleasure

One of the facts that also draws attention to these women's experience is the pain and suffering they endured to reach certain states. So much so that most used silica or whipped themselves. They even experienced how a figure of Christ crucified came down from the cross and embraced her. "BK_SLT_LNA~" The Passion of Jesus, the ultimate expression of pain, is adopted by them, and it is a way to reach mystical states of union with divinity," says Planas. "We should recover all the figures we have that are of great interest and value, at a European level," he emphasizes.