Although a work of fiction, this religious thriller has been packed with so many true events that it will stay with you long after you've finished reading it. Even the backdrop of the Vietnam War and what happened to Nickolas and his fellow soldier...
CHAPTER 40: Confession of a Spanish Nun ...... (Your review here)
The beautiful glen where everyone was sitting was the perfect place for Rama to continue telling everyone about his trip to India—now focusing on the things that Father Mark had shared with him.
Rama knew that Mark had come to India for answers—but Rama could also sense that his friend's questions were profoundly important to everyone. Remembering Father Mark, it seemed rather fitting that both men had come thousands of miles to the holy abode of Lord Krishna in search for the truth.
Rama continued speaking—Maria listening to every word. "The events that I am now going to tell you are exactly what Father Mark told me—information that he had already gathered from the book he had read in Texas. Yes, a very old story but for Mark, one that touched his very soul.
"It seems that when the Jumanos Indians were asked by Father Benavides where their rosary beads had come from, the Indians repeatedly mentioned a white woman.
"Father Mark said that at first the priests thought the Jumanos were confused—even wondering if there was a remote possibility that a white woman was living with them—perhaps a captive. But if anyone would have known about a white woman having been abducted, surely the priests at the mission would have been told. Father Benavides desperately wanted to know more.
"With most of the Jumanos peacefully encamped along the river, the chiefs were invited inside the mission for further interrogation. However, as soon as the Indians stepped into the convent, to everyone's surprise the Indians began pointing to an oil painting of the very popular Spanish nun—Mother Luisa de Carrion."
"Asked why, the Indians said that the woman who taught them was dressed exactly like her. However, instead of the old nun in the painting, their teacher was a young woman and very beautiful."
Rama paused for a second and continued. "Understandably, this was something that Father Benavides was hardly prepared for because everyone knew that nuns were simply not allowed to leave Spain and join their Spanish brothers in their missionary work. Mark told me that in 17th-century Spain, nuns were actually confined within the wall of their convents by papal decree and were never allowed to leave. So how could the Indians claim that a nun had been teaching them?
"The Spanish padres were dumbfounded. Could there be a renegade nun, or even an impostor wandering out in the wilderness on her own—preaching to the Indians? Where did she come from?
"Considering every possibility, perhaps Coronado had left behind a few Spaniards who were now teaching the Indians—but there was no record to indicate that. Had there been an unknown European woman on his expedition who had given birth to a child? And later, this child later gave birth & was this child—now a young woman—the same teacher that the Indians spoke about? Was she somehow a descendant from Coronado's expedition? After all, he had traveled to other parts of Texas—but that was nearly a half century ago. Talking among themselves, Father Benavides and the priests simply found these speculations impossible to believe.
"However, when the facts of what really happened were finally revealed, the theory of a renegade nun would have been much easier to accept as true. This is what makes this story so fascinating."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
