Where did she live?
Sister Maria de Ágreda developed her life in an extremely closed physical surround the Village which saw her be born, and that it was reduced from her 16 years old to the walls of a closing convent, circumstance that she would not avoid her to live close to the historical and political realities of Spain in her time.
The Village of Ágreda, with jurisdiction on 13 places, and their townships of Vozmediano and the Aldehuela had 1550 neighbors in 1625, although, partly due to the expulsion of the moors in 1609, the population had diminished in more than 200 neighbors from century beginnings. Depopulation and poverty dominated this time. The wool cattle ranch that had been the base of the economic wealth, due to the costs of grass and dues, reduced in several thousands the number of heads. A poor agriculture and the artisan activities developed by shoemakers, blacksmiths, butchers, bakers, potters, weavers or sheep-shearers, completed the economic panorama. Of the 1550 neighbors it did not have more than 50 than they lived of revenues, the rest dedicated to agriculture, the shepherding, and some poor trades, lived on a scanty wage that it was barely enough to eat.
The Municipal life was governed by the Corporation composed by a Mayor, three Aldermen, a General Attorney , an Attorney of the Common one, as Attorney by the State of the Hijosdalgos Horsemen and six Deputies, representatives of the parishes of San Pedro, San Juan, our Lady of Magaña, San Miguel, our Lady of the Peña and our Lady of Yanguas. The Municipal ordinances, approved by the Council of Castile in 1639, directed all the aspects of the organization of the Village.
In the religious scope Ágreda it had a deep one spiritual feeling. They existed an Ecclesiastical Chapter of twenty-six Beneficiaries, the Convent of the Franciscans constructed in the 1594 and Monastery of Augustine Fathers, established in 1557, who besides to develop an apostolic and social work they instituted a College of Education, with two chairs of Philosophy and Theology. On 1619 it was founded on the house of the parents of Venerable a Monastery of Concepcionists Nuns, in which there entered Sister Maria de Jesus, her mother, Catherine Arana, and her sister Jeronima. Another Convent of Nuns Agustinas Recoletas was founded on 1660.
Century XVII brought for Ágreda, like for all the towns of Spain, a situation of decay and economic shortage, but also it made arise a spiritual and religious force that moved during the following centuries its faith and its culture.