# Gregoria Ortega

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**Gregoria Ortega** is a [Mexican American](/source/Mexican_Americans) activist and [religious sister](/source/Religious_sisters). She is best known for her support of students in an [Abilene](/source/Abilene,_Texas) school walkout and her co-creation of the religious organization for [Hispanic](/source/Hispanic) sisters and lay women in the [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church), [Las Hermanas](/source/Las_Hermanas_(organization)). She continues to work as an activist today.

## Biography

Ortega was raised in [El Paso, Texas](/source/El_Paso,_Texas) and attended [Bowie High School](/source/Bowie_High_School_(El_Paso,_Texas)).[1][2] When she was very young, her father impressed on her that being a sister was an important job, saying, "They are women who dedicate their entire lives to the Church and to God."[3] She became a sister at 18 when she joined the [Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters](/source/Our_Lady_of_Victory_Missionary_Sisters), also known as Victorynoll.[2] She was newly [professed](/source/Vow) in 1962.[4] After taking vows, she served in San Angelo and Eagle Pass, Texas.[1] On August 5, 1967, she took [perpetual vows](/source/Religious_vows) and then was assigned to [Tulare, California](/source/Tulare,_California).[1] Ortega also spent time studying [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) in [Guanajuato City](/source/Guanajuato_City).[5]

In 1969, she arrived in [Abilene](/source/Abilene,_Texas).[5] She started teaching religious education in the highly [segregated](/source/Racial_segregation) schools in the diocese of [San Angelo](/source/San_Angelo,_Texas).[2] Ortega opposed the "severe [physical abuse](/source/Physical_abuse) of [Chicano/a](/source/Chicano) students by their teachers.[6] She encouraged her students to learn about peaceful [civil rights](/source/Civil_and_political_rights) protests which led to a nine-day walkout which Ortega supported.[2] Around 300 students participated in the walkout.[7]

Ortega also helped support the students throughout the lawsuit which the students and their families brought against the Abilene School Board.[2] The [Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund](/source/Mexican_American_Legal_Defense_and_Educational_Fund) (MALDEF) was involved with the lawsuit which was filed in December of 1969.[8] MALDEF counsel supported the students' rights to free speech and assembly.[9]

Without support from her superiors, alone, "she faced down police officers, judges, school principals and school boards."[10] Ortega's life was threatened for her involvement.[8] Because of her involvement, she was expelled from the diocese.[2]

In 1970, she helped form a [Chicano](/source/Chicano) group to deal with issues facing Mexican Americans in the public schools in [Rotan](/source/Rotan,_Texas).[11]

Ortega met [Gloria Gallardo](/source/Gloria_Gallardo) through a friend, Father Edmundo Rodriguez, and the two of them worked together to form [Las Hermanas](/source/Las_Hermanas_(organization)) in 1971.[2] When Gallardo showed interest in creating a group for Spanish-speaking sisters and invited Ortega to live with her, Ortega obtained travel funds from Victoryknoll's mother superior and bought a one-way ticket to [Houston](/source/Houston).[12] Gallardo and Ortega formed Las Hermanas by finding and inviting [Mexican-American](/source/Mexican_Americans) women to meet in Houston in April 1971.[13] The group eventually grew to have around 900 sisters who were members, and met annually.[2]

In 1973, Ortega and other members of Las Hermanas protested for farmworker's rights in [Fresno](/source/Fresno,_California).[14][15] Later, Ortega and Sister Carmelita Espinoza were involved in the creation of El Centro Guadalupano, which served Mexican parishioners and was created between 1985 and 1986 in [Spokane](/source/Spokane,_Washington).[16]

## References

### Citations

1. ["E.P. Nun Takes Perpetual Vows"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13852315/el_paso_heraldpost/). *El Paso Herald-Post*. 1967-07-29. p. 3. Retrieved 2017-09-19. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Medina, Lara (2009). ["Ortega, Gregoria"](https://books.google.com/books?id=GFrwuj-ZXMkC&q=%22gloria+gallardo%22+sister&pg=PA413). *Hispanic American Religious Cultures: A - M.*. De La Torre, Miguel A. (ed.). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 413–414. ISBN 9781598841398.

1. Medina 2004, pp. 47–48.

1. ["Newly Professed"](https://olvm.omeka.net/items/show/459). *The Missionary Catechist*. **38** (9): 7. October 1962.

1. Medina 2004, p. 47.

1. Medina, Lara (2005). ["The Challenges and Consequences of Being Latina, Catholic, and Political"](https://books.google.com/books?id=eRTGXR2UVzMC&q=%22las+hermanas%22+%22gloria+gallardo%22&pg=PA98). *Latino Religions and Civic Activism in the United States*. Espinosa, Gastón; Elizondo, Virgilio P.; Miranda, Jesse (eds.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 98–99. ISBN 9780195162288.

1. Medina 2004, p. 49.

1. Medina 2004, p. 50.

1. Cardenas, Leo (1969-05-03). ["Mexican-American Supported"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13849549/the_corpus_christi_callertimes/). *The Corpus Christi Caller-Times*. p. 7. Retrieved 2017-09-18. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Sandoval, Moises (March 2010). ["Journey to the center of the church"](http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2010/06/journey-center-church). *[U.S. Catholic](/source/Claretians#Publications)*. Retrieved 2017-09-18.

1. ["Chicano Group Formed in Rotan"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13843826/abilene_reporternews/). *Abilene Reporter-News*. 1970-03-24. p. 39. Retrieved 2017-09-18. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Medina 2004, p. 53.

1. Flores, María Eva (2010-06-15). ["Las Hermanas"](https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ixl03). *Handbook of Texas Online*. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2017-09-15.

1. Dart, John (1973-08-11). ["Las Hermanas Divide Forces for Meeting"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13807431/the_los_angeles_times/). *The Los Angeles Times*. p. 28. Retrieved 2017-09-17. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Medina 2004, p. 83.

1. García, Jerry & García, Gilberto (2005). [*Memory, Community and Activism: Mexican Migration and Labor in the Pacific Northwest*](https://jsri.msu.edu/upload/books/Memory,%20Community,%20and%20Activism.pdf). JSRI Books. p. 267. ISBN 9780870137709.

### Sources

- Medina, Lara (2004). [*Las Hermanas: Chicana/Latina Religious-Political Activism in the U.S. Catholic Church*](https://books.google.com/books?id=eCTwwI9ZXocC&q=%22las+hermanas%22+latina&pg=PA2). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. ISBN 9781592134830.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gregoria Ortega](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregoria_Ortega) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregoria_Ortega?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.