Confession

The New Christian Isabel Rodríguez lived in Agudo, Spain. She had renounced Judaism, confessing her sins (which included eating kosher meat, fasting on Yom Kippur, keeping the laws of Passover, following mourning rituals, and giving charity) and devoting herself to the Catholic church. However, in 1499, Isabel heard about the child prophetess Inés of Herrera. She subsequently visited Inés in her father’s home and listened to the accounts of her visions. Rodríguez believed the child’s prophecies of redemption, even sewing a special blouse that she planned to wear on the journey to the Promised Land. She began to observe various Jewish laws, including lighting Sabbath candles, avoiding eating nonkosher animals, and fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. Isabel was arrested by the Inquisition and interrogated in 1500/1501.