Confession

Beatriz Ramírez of Alcázar

1500/1501

I admit my guilt in that Christmas past, my said husband Juan Estevan told me how his daughter Inés had ascended to the sky and saw there the deceased and the living; and how the conversos were very well prepared [for the Messiah], and many other wonderful things that would have taken too long to recount. In effect, he told me that our salvation…

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Creator Bio

Beatriz Ramírez of Alcázar

Mid-15th to 16th Century

The New Christian Beatriz Ramírez was the stepmother of the child prophet Inés of Herrera. In 1486, married to Alonso de Barca and living in Alcázar, she confessed her sins and declared her devotion to the church, admitting that she had followed customs imparted by her parents. She depicted how she had previously observed the Sabbath, holidays (including Passover and Yom Kippur), the laws of kosher food, mourning customs, and other rituals. However, in 1499/1500, Beatriz, by then married to the shoemaker and leather worker Juan Esteban and living in Herrera, once again began to practice Jewish customs, under the influence of her stepdaughter. In her confession, Beatriz detailed how her husband informed her of his daughter’s prophecies and instructions. She eagerly awaited the coming redemption that Inés foresaw and took up the practices she had previously abandoned, observing the Sabbath, keeping the laws of kosher food, and in addition fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. Beatriz was arrested and interrogated by the Inquisition in 1500.

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