The Mysterious Sofía: One Woman's Mission to Save Catholicism in Twentieth-Century Mexico (The Mexican Experience)

Who was the “Mysterious Sofía,” whose letter in November 1934 was sent from Washington DC to Mexico City and intercepted by the Mexican Secret Service? In The Mysterious Sofía Stephen J. C. Andes uses the remarkable story of Sofía del Valle to tell the history of Catholicism’s global shift from north to south and the importance of women to Catholic survival and change over the course of the twentieth century. As a devout Catholic single woman, neither nun nor mother, del Valle resisted religious persecution in an era of Mexican revolutionary upheaval, became a labor activist in a time of class conflict, founded an educational movement, toured the United States as a public lecturer, and raised money for Catholic ministries—all in an age dominated by economic depression, gender prejudice, and racial discrimination. The rise of the Global South marked a new power dynamic within the Church as Latin America moved from the margins of activism to the vanguard. Del Valle’s life and the stories of those she met along the way illustrate the shared pious practices, gender norms, and organizational networks that linked activists across national borders. Told through the eyes of a little-known laywoman from Mexico, Andes shows how women journeyed from the pews into the heart of the modern world. A history of Global Catholicism told through the eyes of one woman from Mexico. Who was the "Mysterious Sofa," whose letter in November 1934 was sent from Washington DC to Mexico City and intercepted by the Mexican Secret Service? In The Mysterious Sofa Stephen J. C. Andes usesthe remarkable story of Sofa del Valle to tellthe history of Catholicism's global shift from north to south and the importance of women to Catholic survival and change over the course of the twentieth century. As a devout Catholic single woman, neither nun nor mother, del Valle resisted religious persecution in an era of Mexican revolutionary upheaval, became a labor activist in a time of class conflict, founded an educational movement, toured the United States as a public lecturer, and raised money for Catholic ministries--all in an age dominated by economic depression, gender prejudice, and racial discrimination. The rise of the Global South marked a new power dynamic within the Church as Latin America moved from the margins of activism to the vanguard. Del Valle's life and the stories of those she met along the way illustrate the sharedpious practices, gender norms, and organizational networks that linked activists across national borders. Told through the eyes ofa little-known laywoman from Mexico, Andes shows how women journeyed from the pews into the heart of the modern world. Who was the "Mysterious Sofía," whose letter in November 1934 was sent from Washington DC to Mexico City and intercepted by the Mexican Secret Service? In 'The Mysterious Sofía' Stephen J. C. Andes uses the remarkable story of Sofía del Valle to tell the history of Catholicism's global shift from north to south and the importance of women to Catholic survival and change over the course of the twentieth century. As a devout Catholic single woman, neither nun nor mother, del Valle resisted religious persecution in an era of Mexican revolutionary upheaval, became a labor activist in a time of class conflict, founded an educational movement, toured the United States as a public lecturer, and raised money for Catholic ministries-all in an age dominated by economic depression, gender prejudice, and racial discrimination. The rise of the Global South marked a new power dynamic within the Church as Latin America moved from the margins of activism to the vanguard.0Del Valle's life and the stories of those she met along the way illustrate the shared pious practices, gender norms, and organizational networks that linked activists across national borders. Told through the eyes of a little-known laywoman from Mexico, Andes shows how women journeyed from the pews into the heart of the modern world Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Nota Bene, Dear Reader Prologue Part 1 1. Days of the Dead 2. The Sophie Letters 3. Miss del Valle 4. The Mastermind Interlude: Tere Huidobro Part 2 5. Little Flowers 6. Sofía’s Belle Époque 7. Vocation 8. Respectable Telephone Operator 9. Preparing the Future Interlude: Family Albums Part 3 10. The Catacombs 11. The Voyage 12. The Test 13. Gasparri’s Parrots 14. A Long, Hot Roman Summer 15. The Return 16. The Peace Interlude: Las viejitas Part 4 17. Out of the Shadows 18. The New Woman 19. Resistance 20. Les femmes internationales 21. Terrible Beasts 22. Winter in the City of Light 23. Doubt 24. Lourdes 25. The Road to Warsaw 26. Borders 27. Bridges Interlude: Walls Part 5 28. Miss del Valle Goes to Washington 29. The Plan 30. The Deception of Miss Duffy 31. Consider the Lobster 32. Golden Hour of the Little Flower 33. On the Road 34. La patria Calls Postlude Matins Postscript Notes Bibliography Index "The story of a woman named Sofía del Valle, who resisted religious persecution in an era of Mexican revolutionary upheaval, which tells the history of Catholicism's global shift from north to south and the central importance women played in Catholic survival and change over the course of the twentieth century"-- Provided by publisher "The story of a woman named Sofi a del Valle, who resisted religious persecution in an era of Mexican revolutionary upheaval, which tells the history of Catholicism's global shift from north to south and the central importance women played in Catholic survival and change over the course of the twentieth century"-- Stephen J. C. Andes uses the story of Sofia del Valle, who resisted religious persecution in an era of Mexican revolutionary upheaval, to tell the history of Catholicism's global shift from north to south and the central role women played in Catholicism over the course of the twentieth century.