Teresa Forcades

Teresa Forcades i Vila[lower-alpha 1] OSB (born 1966) is a Spanish physician and Benedictine nun. She is a social activist,[1] focusing on public health.

Teresa Forcades

OSB
Forcades in 2015
Born
Teresa Forcades i Vila

1966 (age 53–54)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Alma mater
OccupationBenedictine nun
Known for

Education

Born in Barcelona in 1966, Forcades grew up in a home where her parents rejected religion. She was sent, however, to the private Sacred Heart school, where she discovered religious faith through the study of the Bible given by the religious sisters who ran the school.[2] She went on to study medicine at the University of Barcelona. In 1992 she moved to the United States, where in 1995 she completed a residency at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine, specialising in internal medicine. After obtaining a scholarship, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she gained the degree of Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 1997.

As the result of a stay in order to prepare for some examinations which Forcades made at the Monastery of St. Benedict in Montserrat, Spain, founded in 1952,[3] and connected to the famed Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat, she felt a call to monastic life.[2] In September 1997, she entered the monastery, where she follows the Benedictine pattern of life, while still working in the fields of religious study, theology and medicine. In 2004 she obtained a doctorate in public health from the University of Barcelona. In 2005 she obtained a degree in theology. After four years, in 2009 she received a doctorate from the School of Theology of Catalonia.

Positions

Teresa Forcades understands feminism as a form of liberation theology. Forcades has openly criticised the Catholic church as "misogynist and patriarchal in its structure".[1] She has developed her thoughts on this in the light of liberation theology.

In 2013, Forcades co-authored the Manifesto for the Convening of a Constituent Process in Catalonia with economist Arcadi Oliveres. In it they proposed achieving independence for Catalonia through new political and social model based on self-organisation and social mobilisation.[4] Her political activism resulted in The Guardian labelling her as "one of the most outspoken ... leaders of southern Europe's far left".[1]

In 2015, as another major vote for Catalan independence approached, Forcades received permission from her superior and the Holy See to set aside her habit and don secular attire, entering the political arena to lead the leftist Procés Constituent movement. She remarked, "Criticisms are to be expected. I follow somebody called Jesus and he had a lot of that."[5][6]

In 2018, she returned to the monastery of Sant Benet in Montserrat to resume her life as a contemplative nun.

Writings

Forcades has written three books:

  • La Trinitat avui (The Trinity Today) (Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2005)
  • Els crims de les grans companyies farmacèutiques (The Crimes of big Pharmaceutical Companies) (Cristianisme i Justícia, 2006)
  • La teologia feminista en la història (Feminist Theology in History) (Fragmenta Editorial, 2007)

Notes
  1. Catalan pronunciation: [t(ə)ˈɾɛzə fuɾˈkaðəs].

References
  1. "Keeping up with Teresa Forcades, a nun on a mission". The Guardian. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  2. "Charlas con Teresa". Benedictinos de Catalunya (in Spanish).
  3. "Monastir". Monastir de Sant Benet.
  4. "Teresa Forcades i Arcadi Oliveres promouen un manifest 'per un procés constituent a Catalunya'". VilaWeb.cat. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  5. "Teresa Forcades, del convento a la asamblea, y del hábito a la "estelada"". El Diario (in Spanish).
  6. Kassam, Ashifa (7 June 2015). "Homily to Catalonia: the nun entering Spain's regional politics". The Guardian.
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