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Like Antigua, the Lutheran Center has a colorful history. Once the site of a colonial convent and later a hospital run by Guatemala's first indigenous woman doctor, it now is a major gathering spot for church and non-profit groups. |
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Colonial Era |
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Signs of a large colonial-era convent can be found in a number of locations at the Lutheran Center. A small fountain, half-buried by centuries of settling ash and dirt, is located near the south wall. On the other side of the wall is the chapel of the Santa Rosa convent. The foundation of large structures is visible at the soccer field.
After the 1773 earthquake, the convent was abandoned. Seeking more stable terrain, an official decree called for all government and church organizations to leave Antigua and relocate in a neighboring valley, now known as Guatemala City. The property's history following the earthquake is unclear, but by the late-1800's it was part of a plantation and a large colonial-style home had been built. That home is what we now call "la casa grande," or the big house, of today's Lutheran Center.
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Colonial fountain decorated with lions (partially excavated) still retains the original colored plaster. |
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Hospital and First Indigenous Woman Doctor |
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About 1950, the land and home were purchased by newly arrived U.S. Lutheran missionaries. At that time, the building housed the Hospital Santa Rosa with Dra. Elena Trejo and the Iglesia Luterana Cristo el Gran Médico.
Dra. Trejo was Guatemala's first indigenous woman doctor. She was born to a single mother who worked as a maid in Guatemala City. In spite of hardships she was educated in Guatemala schools up to the university level. Being denied entrance to Guatemala universities due to her race and gender, missionary friends helped her travel to the U.S. where she earned her medical degree. She then returned to Guatemala to serve its people. She split her time attending to indigenous patients in the mornings and paying Latino patients in the afternoons.
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Guatemala's first indigenous woman doctor and her Packard loaded with medicine and equipment (1947).
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| Dra. Trejo enjoyed a thriving practice until the C.I.A.-backed coup that unseated the leftist progressive president in favor of an anticommunist hardliner. Overnight, Dra. Trejo and the hospital were labeled as communistic sympathizers. Before long the hospital was closed and Dra. Trejo had to flee Antigua hidden in the trunk of a car. Her husband was jailed for six-months by the military for questioning. |
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| Cristo el Gran Medico Chapel |
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Iglesia Luterana Cristo el Grand Medico, or Christ the Great Physician Lutheran Church, obviously chose its name because of the hospital's important work among the people. It was established through the efforts of Rev. Robert Gussick, the first LCMS missionary to Guatemala. Unfortunately, the fact that the church was so closely related to the hospital, at least in name and location, led to accusations and rumors that it also was a communistic front. The congregation eventually was forced to close its doors.
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The Lutheran Center is a tobacco and alcohol-free facility.
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