The creation of "Areala" was loosely based on the Fraternité Notre-Dame, or the Fraternity of Our Lady, a traditionalist Catholic organization. In 1991, a chapter was established in New York City's East Harlem in order to found a soup kitchen. It was in New York that Sister Marie Chantel, who had been a black belt in Judo, learned Taekwondo under a Hell's Kitchen martial arts master. Her fellow nuns, including the Mother Superior, also learned self-defense, hearing that the neighborhoods were dangerous, though they insist that their martial arts training is mostly for sport and that they have had no problems with the surrounding neighborhoods. Their story was ultimately picked up and reported by "The New York Times".