Members of the team: Ana Karen del Río, Karina Students ID:

Morales, Natalie Lamphar, Ariadna Liévana nat. 02953535

ari. 02953579
kari. 02967257
ana. 02959704
Course: Anthropology, culture and Teacher: Karen Jared Durán Montaño
social conscience

Title of the ethnographic research: Date: 01/04/22

Lifestyle of a religious woman being a
teacher in Liceo del Valle de Toluca,
her perspective about the church :
The background behind that.
Evidence 2

Marking the field:

Place: Mexico, Mexico State
Community: Religious women community (Liceo del Valle de Toluca)
Research objectives:
1. Learn more about the daily routine of a religious woman.
2. Understand the background of the reasons a woman chooses to be part of the
religious community.
3. Understand the perceptions they have about other people's lifestyle outside the
religious community.
Resources: Transport to arrive at Liceo del Valle, notebook, and cell phones to
record interviews and take pictures.

Subject:
Lifestyle of a religious woman being a teacher in Liceo del Valle de Toluca, her
perspective about the church : The background behind that.
 Preparation and documentation:
Textual cites:

Ana Karen del Río

"I began to realize that God had his path prepared and dreamed for me with a Father's
love from eternity. At the same time, I began to attend the Franciscan Women's Youth,
where they gave us a good formation in all aspects."(W/A.W/D)

"In the Community I went through many trades, refectory, cook, turner, sacristan, vicar of
the Abbess."(W/A.W/D)

Natalie Lamphar

“Why can't priests and nuns marry and have children?” (question made by a 17 year old
boy)

““In reality, it was a life choice. Yes, marriage is very beautiful and the Church herself
never tires of defending it. But priests and nuns decide, of their own free will, to renounce
this gift to give their hearts not only to a man or a woman, but to God and to all men”. (
Juan Antonio Ruiz, L.C., 2007)

“What happens the day you lock yourself up permanently?” (Dueñas, J. 2016)

“When they came to hand me over, that day was a Sunday at 9 in the morning, January
15, 1995, while my mother said: "Now why should I live, I'm going to shoot myself", and I
had an impressive peace and thought in what is the grace of God because he gives you
the strength to leave everything. When the door opened, there was a picture of “Ecce
Homo”, and my dad told me: “when you go in, tell him it's forever, and if not, don't go in”.
The door opens, I go in and tell him inwardly that it's forever, that he won't let me return
to the world, I kiss the floor and the door closes.”(Gonzalez, M. 2016).

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Ariadna Lievana:
"How was the definitive step towards this lifestyle?" (Question asked by an interviewer)

"After spending Christmas my parents asked me to celebrate my birthday with them, so

the nuns jokingly said it was like the Manbru song….they didn't know when it would come.
Entrance.-They finally opened to me the doors of the cloister on March 8, 1958 at 4 in the
afternoon, an unforgettable hour (like Juan and Andrés when Jesus called them, and they
leaving everything and without looking back followed him). That day 8 I hugged my
parents in a hug full of love and gratitude. Upon arriving at the Monastery I first said
goodbye to family and friends who wanted to accompany me in that momentous moment
of my life. And the blessed door of Closure was closed forever. I found some authentic
Sisters, daughters of St. Francis and St. Clare, in obedience, poverty and fraternal life,
order, punctuality, hours of prayer, recreation, work and great happiness for having
followed the call of Jesus." (Sister María Almudena., W/D)

"How was your youth and the beginning of your vocation?" (Question made by an
interviewer)
"In my house they were very religious. I began to realize that God had his path prepared
and dreamed for me with a Father's love from eternity. At the same time I began to attend
the Franciscan Women's Youth, where they gave us good training in all aspects. Summer
vacations of 15 days were organized, to the sea and the mountains, I was very happy I
had good friends in the Franciscan youth from where many vocations for missions also
came out In these excursions that we made, God allowed me to enjoy and see Him in all
of nature I knew that He had created everything with the love of the Father." (Mercedes
Santos Corral. 2019)

Karina Morales:

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 ”It meant being born again because to enter here you have to
die. Once you enter here not everything is done, you have to kill that old man. I was a 15-
year-old girl from the world, when I approached prayer those first few months I did not
know how to speak to God.” (González, M. 2016)

“One of the most special moments where the vocational call is felt is when we meet God
in personal prayer, that space of solitude between the Lord and our soul is the most
appropriate to discern if I have vocational concerns to a more dedicated life.” (Sta.
Catalina. 2021)

Paraphrased cites:

Ana Karen Del Rio

How do they exercise their spiritual motherhood? The nun Ana Margarita Gonzalez
explain us that the primary purpose of prayer is to unite with God, discover his will in life,
and receive that inner spiritual strength for day to day, because as she expresses it, that
strength reverberates, they are the root and the tree are the people outside the church,
what they receive and learn inside, outside is transmitted spiritually. (Dueñas.2016)

Is there anything about the Church that you find ridiculous? In the feminist perspective of
the nun Ruth Lazar, she mentioned that something that she really hates about the
religious community is the fact that it is still celebrated when a woman rises in the
hierarchy, as if it were an achievement. She is really bothered by the fact that women are
still seen as being different from men. (Seydack.2017)

Karina Morales

Nun Monica is asked about what message she would like to give to a person who is
presented with obstacles in their day to day life, to which she replies that when we are

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 presented with a challenge, we should not be afraid and even
if let's stay alone, let's never stop helping others, mentions that God will not leave us
alone and that he will give us the strength we need. (Cruz. 2005)

The nun Maria Eugenia Patiño is questioned about autonomy and decision-making within
a convent, to which her answer refers to the fact that all female religious convents depend
on the church and the bishop, although she mentions that the so-called nuns cloisters are
autonomous from other monasteries and make individual decisions, but always adhering
to the current constitutions (Braccio. 1999)

Natalie Lamphar

When the interviewer asked, How much time a day are they allowed to spend on the
internet, the mother, Margarita González, responded it depended, like half an hour. In
that time she published videos about the heart of jesus, with a duration of 5 or 10 minutes,
but just that, all the pages that she consulted are catholic, and also she has and knows
all limits referred to the internet, about that, she says that sometimes a facebook page
or chat appears, but since she is a cloistered nun, she cannot communicate over those.
(Dueñas.2016)

“What would you do if a gay couple wanted to get married in your church?” the sister Ruth
Lazar, she responded that she respected the church´s position over that topic, so they
didnt marry gay couples nor making public blessings, by the way she says that even
though the gay marriage was legal in the state, for her, marriage just meant a bond
between a man and a woman. (Seydack.2017)

Ariadna Liévana

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 "How was your contemplative vocation to the Discalced
Carmel born?" Hna Monica replied that her religious life began when she was 7 years
old, in July 1984 she called the Carmel of the Province of Neuquén and spoke with the
Mother, she asked her if she could travel to meet them, in September of the same year
she traveled and felt with very clear that this was his place. (Cruz. 2005)

"Did you always want to be a nun?" the nun Jade Banks replied that she was not in her
plans to become a nun first of all, she thought that the nuns were a kind of mystical
creatures. Even though she was a cradle Catholic." (López. 2018)

Design:

Basic questions:
1. What does it mean to be a religious woman?
2. Which phases does a woman go through to choose this religious lifestyle?
3. From their point of view, what aspect of the Church does not seem so pleasant?
4. At the time they decided to form part of that community, what was the opinion of
their family and closest friends?
5. Is a religious woman's routine different from other people´s ?

Justification: This research is going to make people understand deeply, how does a
religious woman lifestyle is, learning about their past and experiences in which they had
to go through, to become part of this community, in this case being a teacher in Liceo del
Valle de Toluca.

Methods: Oral history

Techniques: Semi- structured interview, Life History & Participant Observation.

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References (Bibliography): Of all the sources consulted by the members of the team,
in APA style.

Ruiz, A. (2007, 7 abril). Los hijos de la monja. Catholic.net. Recuperado 1 de abril

de 2022, de https://es.catholic.net/op/articulos/38270/cat/850/los-hijos-de-la-
monja.html#modal
W/A.(2010).Interview to Sor María Almudena.Monjas Capuchinas. Recovered on
1 April from:http://www.monjascapuchinas.org/entrevistas/entrevista-a-sor-maria-
almudena/41/
O. (2021, 5 diciembre). ENTREVISTA a ‘monjas del Monasterio Santa Catalina de
Siena de Arequipa’. OMP Perú. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2022, de https://omp-
peru.org/2021/12/05/entrevista-a-monjas-del-monasterio-santa-catalina-de-
siena-de-arequipa/
Dueñas, J. (2020, 4 junio). «Decidí ser una monja de las que no salen», Ana
Margarita González. ELESPECTADOR.COM. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2022, de
https://www.elespectador.com/cromos/vida-social/decidi-ser-una-monja-de-las-
que-no-salen-ana-margarita-gonzalez/
Seydack, N. (2017, 5 octubre). Diez preguntas que siempre has querido hacer a
una monja. Vice. Recuperado 2 de abril de 2022, de
https://www.vice.com/es/article/kz7k7a/diez-preguntas-monja-entrevista-religion
Dueñas, J. (2020, 4 junio). «Decidí ser una monja de las que no salen», Ana
Margarita González. ELESPECTADOR.COM. Recuperado 2 de abril de 2022, de
https://www.elespectador.com/cromos/vida-social/decidi-ser-una-monja-de-las-
que-no-salen-ana-margarita-gonzalez/
Monjas Capuchinas | Entrevistas > Entrevista a Sor MarÃ-a Almudena. (s. f.).
Entrevista a las hermanas. Recuperado 4 de abril de 2022, de
http://www.monjascapuchinas.org/entrevistas/entrevista-a-sor-maria-
almudena/41/

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 Umbrales, R. (2019, 7 febrero). (entrevista) «UNA MONJA
SIN MIEDO A LAS FRONTERAS». Revista Umbrales Uruguay. Recuperado 4 de
abril de 2022, de https://umbrales.edu.uy/2019/02/07/entrevista-una-monja-sin-
miedo-a-las-fronteras/
ACI Prensa. (2017, 10 diciembre). ¿Por qué esta joven de 23 años quiere
convertirse en monja? ¿Como inicio tu vida religiosa? Recuperado 4 de abril de
2022, de https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/que-es-lo-que-piensa-una-joven-de-
23-anos-para-convertirse-en-monja-93425
Construyendo identidad: religiosas de vida activa y monjas de clausura. (2007).
Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología. Recuperado 4 de abril de 2022, de
https://cdsa.aacademica.org/000-066/1800.pdf