Julie & Harold Head to Peru: Julie Heads to the Convent (Harold follows)

The largest convent in Arequipa is the Santa Catalina Convent, a part of the Dominican order (formally called Monastery of Saint Catherine or “Monasterio de Santa Catalina”), which opened to the public in 1970 after being restored after the two devastating earthquakes of 1958 and 1960 largely because the nuns couldn't afford to fix it themselves; they needed the tourist income. We were again amazed at what people in a specific culture will accomplish in the name of the religion they profess.

This particular convent started in 1579, 40 years after the Spanish arrived in Arequipa. It is huge, covering 4.94 acres, having its own streets and often being called a “city within a city.” Making it additionally beautiful is its construction from sillar, the white volcanic rock that gives Arequipa the name of the White City, and ashlar, petrified volcanic ash from Chachani, the mountain which overlooks the city.

Here's one of the beautiful streets reminiscent of Spain with hanging geraniums on one side. Newer architecture on opposite side houses new quarters for the nuns (Yes, the convent still has nuns, but only 23 of them).

While the architecture is delightful to walk around, what is most interesting is its history. It was founded by a rich widow from Arequipa, and it was an upper-class monastery, only accepting girls from the wealthiest families who had to pay a significant “dowry” to get the girls in, as well as a yearly fee – sort of a female country religious club for the rich. The “dowry,” in fact, was 2,400 silver coins, equivalent to about $50,000. But there was more! They also had to bring with them 25 things, including a statue, a painting, a lamp and clothes. Some also brought the finest English china and wonderful silk curtains and rugs (many of these items are on display in the convent museum).

But wait! There’s more! The families built houses for each of them, consisting of a main sitting and sleeping room for the nun, a kitchen, and the quarters for their personal servants (1-4 of them per nun). A few of these "homes" are also visible.

Here is a pic of one of the nun's beds. Notice the curved sillar arch over the bed. Architects have learned that this curved structure is the strongest in case of earthquake:

The second daughter of each wealthy family was targeted to become a nun, and often left home at the age of 3 to study at the convent before becoming a noviatiate. But don’t think they just sat around praying all day – such was not the case. They were able to invite musicians to perform, have parties, and live in the style they had been accustomed to – without leaving the grounds and without seeing their family except on special visiting days when the family would be on one side of this wooden screen and the nun on the other. They could talk to each other, somewhat see each other, but not touch.

At its peak, the convent contained 450 people, about 1/3^rd of whom were nuns, the rest servants. The only male allowed to enter was the doctor, and he wasn't around very much.

In 1871, this good life came to an end when the pope sent a strict Dominican nun to enforce the vow of poverty and thus send the dowries back and free the servants (some say slaves), giving them the choice to leave or become nuns themselves. At that point, the convent was opened to women of all social classes.

During our tour, we walked through narrow streets named for cities in Spain, passed through arched colonnades with beautiful paintings at the tops of the columns and around the top, viewed courtyards, fountains, flowering plants and trees, the chapels, the kitchens, the laundry area, and, of course, some of the “home” of the nus who lived there.

Here are some of the pictorial highlights:

Cloister of the Oranges: The three crosses set among the orange trees are the center of the Passion of the Christ ceremonies when the monastery is closed to visitors:

The servants needed a place to bathe, so this "tub" was built for them (I suspect it was lilyless when they used it!):

One of the beautiful gardens:

Laundry Area: Big earthen storage vats served as wash tubs when canals provided Arequipa’s water supply. Each type of clothing filled a different pottery vat, and the water was directed to each pot by use of a rock gate (second pic):

And the artwork is stunning. Here we see artwork at the top of one of the columns, but there were also numerous oil paintings, many of them brought by the nuns themselves:
:

Oh – here’s one more nun we should mention: Sor Ana de Los Angeles Monteagudo (1595-1668). She first entered the convent as a 3-year old, spent most of her childhood there, refused marriage, and returned to enter the novitiate. She became known for her accurate predictions of death and disease. She is credited with healings, including the severely inflicted painter who painted the sole portrait of her. It is said that as soon as he completed the portrait, he was completely healed. In her later years, Sor Ana was blind and in ill-health and when she died in January of 1686, she was not embalmed because her body did not reek of death. She was buried under the floor of the Choir in the church.

When she was exhumed ten months later, her body had not deteriorated, but remained as fresh and flexible as the day she died. She is credited with healing others, even after death. The nuns wrote reports at the time of instances where the sick were healed after touching her possessions. Shortly after her death, petition to name her a saint was submitted to the Catholic church. In the way of the church, the process is slow. It wasn't until 1985 that Pope John Paul II visited this monastery for the beatification of Sor Ana. (Sister Ana info from gosouthamerica.about.com).

She is now on the docket for sainthood, so stay tuned. But also stayed tuned, because they were making a documentary of her life when we were there (maybe to come out at the time of her officially becoming a saint?).

The door to her room: