From The “old” Catholic Encyclopedia: Remember
Magdalen of the Cross - false “visionary”, false stigmatic”
“The mystical experiences of the great St Teresa of Avila herself were the subject of much suspicion and outright hostility on the part of many learned and holy theologians of the time, not necessarily to the concept of private revelations, or to the charismata as manifested in certain individuals, rather, at least in part, because of the fact that many members of the ‘theological establishment’ in Spain and throughout Europe had only recently been deceived by a false mystic, the notorious Magdalen of the Cross:…Magdalen of the Cross…at the beginning of the century of St Teresa of Avila, fooled almost the whole of Spain…on certain days she had either the stigmata or sweats of blood, and she announced the defeat and imprisonment of Francis I by the Spanish army at Pavia… Hence, the tide of enthusiasm of which he was the cause. Common people, parish priests, emperors, many venerated her, and consulted with her. However, an apostolic visitor from Rome was shocked by some detains he saw in her convent. He spoke to each of the sisters and, especially with the Mother Abbess, Magdalen of the Cross, who eventually confessed that, while a young shepherdess, she had sold her soul to the devil in return for his giving her the power of performing prodigies. Thus she deceived everybody for thirty years. (2) The footnote is from “Rev. Ludovic-Marie Barrielle, C.P. C.R. V., Rules for the Discerning of Spirits in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Angelus Press, Kansas City, MO. 1992.”
Extract from “Medjugorje, The Facts and Logic”, by Brian Hughes”
Further information may be gleaned from Volume 1 ~ the collected works of St Teresa of Avila, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D., Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington, D.C., 1976: “Another visionary, Magdalena de la Cruz, a Poor Clare with a reputation for holiness, severe fasts, and long vigils, also bearing the stigmata, let it be known that she no longer required any food except the consecrated Host in daily Communion. In an investigation by the Inquisition she confessed to being a secret devil worshipper. Inspired by two incubuses with whom she had made a pact, she became very skillful at all sorts of legerdemain, Through her success in fooling both bishops and kings, she brought the fear of being deceived to all of Spain.”
From the Introduction to the above book, by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., p.8
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this of “private revelation”
"67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium, knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.
"Christian faith cannot accept ‘revelations’ that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions, and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such ‘revelations.’ " (Emphasis added.)
Another source:
*Satanic Mimicry
Fr. Groeschel cites the case of the Franciscan nun, Magdalena of the Cross, who had been “three times abbess of her monastery at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Complete with self-inflicted stigmata and the ability to levitate above the earth, with ecstasies and the gift of prophesy, she even convinced others that she had lived without food. She enjoyed a reputation for extraordinary holiness for several decades. Bishops, clergy, great nobles, and even inquisitors flocked to her. She succeeded in deluding a large number of Spanish theologians who prided themselves on not being easily taken in. However, in danger of death, she confessed that the whole thing was a fabrication and that in fact she inflicted the stigmata on herself. By her own admission she had sold her soul to Satan in return for all of these deceptive gifts, and she actually had to be subjected to exorcism” (A Still Small Voice, pp. 45-46). Rallying from her illness, the nun attempted to stage a “come-back,” and spent her remaining years in the care of the Inquisition.
