Azhley Rodriguez
Editor-in-Chief
For the first time in Dominican history, a Latina woman was hired as a full-time professor in the theology department.
Before coming to Dominican, Claudia Herrera-Montero served as a lay minister, director of campus ministry and theology faculty member in the Archdiocese of Miami.
Herrera-Montero is a mother, spouse, Latina and at Dominican, she’s known for being the first full-time Latina Hispanic theology professor to teach at DU.
She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, where she learned the importance of familia (family) and la lucha (the struggle) from her abuela (grandma).
“[I’m] a Latina theologian because of my abuela and what she taught me. Not only in faith, my love of God, but part of who I am is from the strength and the coraje, the courage of the people, walking together in faith. I think of the community to be built by the abuelas,” Herrera-Montero said.
In Colombia, she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Sciences at Universidad del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary University) in Bogotá.
After undergrad, she moved to Miami with her family and earned a master’s degree in pastoral ministries and a doctorate degree in practical theology from St. Thomas University.
After an internship with Sistema Nacional Para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (SNPDIF) in Mexico City, she found her passion for helping families experiencing hardships in Mexico.
“I was there at the right time, with the right people and I was able to ask critical questions like ‘What does my faith as a Catholic have to do with walking with families or working with an organization that works towards a more just and humane living of families?’” Herrera-Montero said. “That’s where I made the connection … my faith is not separated from who I am and what it means to be human.”
At DU, Herrera-Montero will be teaching three classes per semester. These classes include Introduction to Roman Catholicism, Latina Theology and Spirituality, and Catholic Social Thought.
If students take one of Herrera-Montero’s classes, she hopes they know, “It took an open heart and open mind in the story of salvation to say yes to the extraordinary journey of entering into a relationship with the world. If you take my class, I invite you to open your heart and mind to the journey of learning and working together towards something new,” she said.
“The more we learn and reflect on what this subject has to offer, the more we will be able to open unexpected doors and meet wonderful people we did not know before.”
This story was edited online Sept. 28, 2022.
