Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th century by the Franciscan nun Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda. According to María de Ágreda, the book was to a considerable extent dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary and regarded the life of the Virgin Mary and the divine plan for creation and the salvation of souls. The work alternates between descriptions of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary's life, and the spiritual guidance she provides to the author, by whom her words were reproduced for the spiritual benefit and growth of the reader. The book describes at length the various virtues, and how the reader should live in order to see them reflected in their own life, with the Virgin Mary as their model for sanctity. The work has the Imprimatur of several Popes and Bishops and appeals primarily to those who believe in private revelation and the sanctity of Mary. Non-Catholics generally do not accept the teaching of the Catholic Church and are consequently skeptical of works of this nature.