Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1940-01-04
A Clandestine Convent

| This clandestine convent was the
Convent of Santa Monica, at Pueb-
| la, Mexico, where church and state
have been separated for about a
hundred years. 1t has been a long
i struggle, and violent changes have
been common. One of these violent
under the Constitution. All monas-
teries and nunneries were taken
over by the government.
Yet. the Convent of Santa Mon
lea operated for II years without
being discovered. What secret it
was! People in Puebla knew the Sc
cret and kept it, The government
was in ignorance. Four families
were domiciled in front part, and a
church occupied apparently the rest
of the building. So, the government
was blinded to the real situation
Who would think that innocent
nuns would disobey orders, and
carry on in secret what was prohib-
tied by the laws of the Indian
patriot Jaurez The law was franz
ed in 1857. Accidental discovery
came in 1884
Who can say what they did :?
What HASTINGS, vigils. penance, dis
cipline? The Convent was large,
Curious, rambling, mysterious
rooms, with queer, secret doors
made up the nunnery Other secret
rooms were reached by ladders 1t
is not known whether these secret
rooms were for meditation or pun
ishment. / record the facts just as
we saw them. A chapel was reach
ed by a hole in the wall, 2 by 2
feet in size, and level with the floor
Painfully, one by one, our company
stopped on hands and knees, to
crawl through, just as the nuns had
done so often. There was a shrine
built to hide another secret door.
Still other doors were made to look
like cupboard, which covered
mysterious entrances. A balcony,
60 feet above, furnished peep-holes,
through which the church could be
time
The patio was beautiful, but the
cells were so small, cramped, and
uncomfortable, and so unattractive.
There was a harshness, that caused
us to shudder We saw means Of
torture. Iron bands like nutmeg
graters, with perforated holes close
together to be worn on the body.
There were sizes to fit the arm, leg,
wrist and waist. There were many
crowns of thorns, painful for del
icate brow. There were whips to
lacerate the body. One is left to
wonder how often the flagellation
was enforced, or how often volun
tary.
Plutarcho Gales came into power.
He was strong man, though now
in California in exile. He was for
strict law enforcement. A detective
came looking for law violations.
The unexpected happened. BY acci-
dent he rang a doorbell. A nun ap-
peared in full regalia. The sister
was shocked, the man surprised
Haste, CONSERVATION, alarm was fol-
lowed by flight Soldiers came to
guard all exits, but too late! Secret
passages in the church allowed 32
to escape. Where they went no one
knows. The soldiers captured 18,
and returned them to a more nor
NAL life.
The retreat thus broken up be-.
came a museum. 1t houses many
interesting relics. Among them are
rich and gaudy vestments of priests,
one for each Sunday of the year.
Pictures and statues were confiscat-
are shown, costing $50, 900 each. !
Two of the six were on exhibition
at the New York exhibition. HUI
man faces, SO clear. natural, spirit
ual, so delightfully."- beautiful and
revealing are portrayed on the pic
lures in velvet by the Indian artist,
Rafael Marante, whose secret art
died with him. The Convent was
named for the mother Of Augustine,
Monica. A profligate, converted by
his mothers prayers, he became a
real saint, the strongest mind in the
church for 1000 years 1t is true
history, and beautiful story of the
early church, which everyone should
read
In this convent one meets at ev-
cry turn statues and pictures of this
great soul. Augustinian monks
the convent in 1896, near
ly $50 years ago. Indian priests
like Hidalgo and Morelos sought to
keep religion pure, and died mar
tyrs to the cause of religious and
social freedom Howard II. Scott.
r,r~ n~1n~I Dnrrkn