Twelfth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

It is affirmed that Marianismo, was born with Juan Luis Vives in the Court of Henri the VIII, during the XVI century. The cult of Jesus mother was exported by Spain to its Colonies in América. Here, Marianismo was accepted and confirmed with the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego, a Mexican Indian, in 1531. This event interpreted as miraculous by Catholics is also seen as a manipulation of the ignorance of the Colonial natives to replace their ancestral traditions for those of conquers. Vives, Spanish philosopher, was requested by Catalina, Queen of England to write a manual of instructions to educate the young Princess Mary. The Manual is a systematic discussion of the behavior, dress code, diet, and reading materials appropriate to a woman as maid, wife, and widow. “The Instruction of the Christian Women”, became the Vade Mecum to young women and his ideal of women was adopted by European and Latin American Societies alike. The core of Vives’ educational principles is based on giving pleasure to men, since women were destined to be men’s companions for life. And according to Vives there is nothing worse than having for companion a useless, stupid, and ignorant woman. Maria, Jesus mother, became the prototype of women educated according to the Christian Principles of Vives’ Manual. This ideal woman conceived at the image of the mother of Jesus, is the core of Marianismo. In exploring this history, we affirm that Marianismo was born with Juan Luis Vives in 1493.