Beaterios

Nevertheless, Spanish soldiers and colonists kept coming because of the riches to be gained and the fertility of the land.  By the beginning of the 18^th century they had established a solid foothold in Guanajuato and San Miguel was a thriving commercial center surrounded by large cattle ranches. [1]  The mission of the Congregation of Saint Philip Neri (Filipenses) at the Oratory at Colegio de San Francisco de Sales was thriving and the Oratorians arranged through a local banker, Don Xavier Alvarez, to acquire a large parcel of land near the site of the former Sanctuary of Guadalupe to build a church and beaterio dedicated to Santo Domingo de Guzmán in 1750.[2] "Senor Alvarez wisely set up a legal plan whereby his family would retain ownership of the property, while the Dominican Sisters would have the use of it in perpetuity. This arrangement guaranteed that if the Mexican government were to confiscate the property, it would have to be returned to the Alvarez family, who in turn would give it back to the Church.”[3]  Dominican Friars were assigned from the province of Santiago to direct the beatas on their spiritual retreats, and the Oratorian Padre Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro established another beaterio a short distance away at the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno in Atotonilco where he offered retreats based upon the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola.  It was he who began the tradition still honored today of a Holy Week procession from San Miguel to Atotonilco.  

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[1] (Powell 1952), pp. 39-41

[2] (Lillis 2012), pp. 512-513

[3] (Moses 2017), p. 23

[4] (Amado Luarca 2018), pp. 40-41

Cry of Dolores

General Juan Álvarez

In 1820 Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla proclaimed the famous Cry of Dolores rallying the people to protect the interests of Guanajuato and urging them to revolt against Spanish elite.  Padre Hidalgo was assassinated soon after the rebellion began, and the fight for independence brought a halt to Spanish mining operations.  Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, but Mexico City was invaded by the United States.  In September 1847 soldiers from Guanajuato joined in the unsuccessful attempt to defend México City.  Under the treaty which ended the war, Mexico ceded a huge part of their northern territory including all of what is now California, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona, as well as portions of Utah and Wyoming. Under Antonio López de Santa Anna and the provisional government of General Juan Álvarez, peace was restored.  Benito Juárez assumed the presidency of Mexico in Guanajuato and made it the provisional capital of Mexico in 1861.  

Normalization

View from Beaterio San Miguel

The Sanctuario de Atotonilco and the Beaterio Santo Domingo both suffered under the persecution of the Church under President Benito Juárez. When Porfirio Díaz came to power relations between the government and the Church were normalized and the beaterios were reopened, but their way of life had been disturbed.  The women lived in small cells each with its own door to the center courtyard and a private stairway to the roof.  The Oratorians continued to provide Mass and Confession for them and supported them in practical ways.  Each beata was self-sufficient and had a serving girl to buy her books and food and help with domestic chores. In return the girls were given religious instruction.  They prayed the rosary together as a community and said the Little Office of the Virgin Mary in the choir loft.  The beatas practiced the penitential discipline of common to third order Dominican every evening.  After a visit in 1874 the local bishop, Don José María de Jesús de Sollano y Dávalos, reported that the beatas kept to the horarium and strictly observed the rule of profound silence in the enclosure.  The door to the church was kept locked at all times except during Mass when both the beatas and their attendants were hidden from view behind an iron grating in the choir loft. Only the bishop, canons, prelates and provincials on official Church business were allowed to visit the Beaterio itself.  They were most diligent in the lessons offered the girls entrusted to their care.  In short, he concluded that the foundation was in good order, and the beatas were conscientiously dedicated to the service of God offering perpetual penitence to the honor and glory of God.[1]      

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[1] (Amado Luarca 2018), pp. 43-44