Colonial Latin America was a deeply religious society, a world in which all were called upon to subscribe to one dogma and one set of religious beliefs, that of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The church was spiritually, ritually, and physically present (or perhaps omnipresent) throughout the colonies. Religion entered in many spheres of daily life, helping to organize the beliefs, social actions and interactions of all inhabitants of the region. Religion helped to define and enforce gender roles. Thus, it should come as no surprise that religion deeply affected Hispanic women, providing them with life choices, the arenas in which to organize their spiritual and social lives, and the opportunities to display personal piety.

Entering the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena that day in 1813, Juana Isabel San Martín was making a lifetime decision that thousands of women in colonial Latin American had made before her. Like all elite women, she had been encouraged “to take a state” – marry a man or marry God. Most chose the former, but an important group of women, like Juana, elected to enter female monasteries.