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Women of the Church: What Every Catholic Should Know
While many Catholics are aware of great female saints such as Catherine of Siena and Thérèse of Lisieux, a view persists that, over the centuries, women played a limited role in the development of Catholic traditions and institutions. In this innovative survey of Church history, Bronwen McShea demonstrates instead that faithful women have always been at the heart of the Church's common life, shaping it and the course of entire civilizations.
In Women of the Church, McShea presents a wide array of well known and lesser known canonized and beatified women, others awaiting beatification, and still more figures not meriting canonization but whom every Catholic should know. She situates Catholic women from diverse social, ethnic, and national origins in their historical contexts, examining specific challenges they faced in settings such as imperial Rome, Reformation Europe, colonial Latin America and Africa, and the USA and Soviet Union during the Cold War. In the process, she shows that, in every age, women inspired by God with creativity, courage, and fidelity have helped save the Church from corruption, disunity, and destruction.
In short, McShea clarifies that the history of Catholic women is the history of the Church—as much as the history of Catholic men is.
In Women of the Church, McShea presents a wide array of well known and lesser known canonized and beatified women, others awaiting beatification, and still more figures not meriting canonization but whom every Catholic should know. She situates Catholic women from diverse social, ethnic, and national origins in their historical contexts, examining specific challenges they faced in settings such as imperial Rome, Reformation Europe, colonial Latin America and Africa, and the USA and Soviet Union during the Cold War. In the process, she shows that, in every age, women inspired by God with creativity, courage, and fidelity have helped save the Church from corruption, disunity, and destruction.
In short, McShea clarifies that the history of Catholic women is the history of the Church—as much as the history of Catholic men is.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published April 15, 2024
About the author
Bronwen McShea
4 books7 followersBronwen McShea earned a Ph.D. in History from Yale University and an M.T.S. focusing on the History of Christianity from Harvard Divinity School.
She was an Associate Research Scholar in the James Madison Program at Princeton University from 2018-2020 and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Institut für Europäische Geschichte in Mainz, Germany.
She was an Associate Research Scholar in the James Madison Program at Princeton University from 2018-2020 and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Institut für Europäische Geschichte in Mainz, Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 15, 2026
I am women (of the church), hear me roar!
September 18, 2024
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed exploring the lives of Catholic women in the church! It’s so amazing to see the lives of Saints and how they lived the life God called them to live. Truly such an inspiration to read about lives of so many faithful women in the Church. A great read.
March 28, 2026
Bronwen McShea's "Women of the Church" arrives as an essential corrective, a work of historical recovery that does not merely add women to the existing narrative of Catholic history, but fundamentally reimagines what that history looks like when women are understood not as supporting players but as central actors. The result is a book that will shift how readers understand not only the Church's past, but its present and future.
The premise is deceptively simple. While many Catholics can name great female saints, Catherine of Siena, Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Ávila, a persistent assumption lingers that women's contributions have been exceptional rather than foundational. McShea dismantles this assumption with scholarly rigor and narrative grace. From imperial Rome to Reformation Europe, from colonial Latin America to Cold War America, she traces a lineage of women whose creativity, courage, and fidelity shaped not only Catholic institutions but entire civilizations.
What distinguishes this survey is its breadth and its nuance. McShea profiles canonized saints alongside women awaiting beatification, figures of institutional power alongside those whose influence was quieter but no less consequential. She attends carefully to context, the specific challenges faced by women in each era, the constraints they navigated, the strategies they deployed. The result is not a hagiography but a genuine history: women emerge as complex figures, fully human, whose holiness was forged in the particular circumstances of their time and place.
The cumulative effect is transformative. McShea demonstrates that the history of Catholic women is not a subcategory of Church history. It is Church history. The women she profiles did not merely assist male leaders or serve as exemplars of passive virtue. They founded religious orders, advised popes, negotiated peace treaties, established hospitals and schools, resisted tyrannical regimes, and sustained communities through periods of persecution and crisis. Their influence, McShea argues persuasively, has repeatedly saved the Church from corruption, disunity, and destruction.
McShea writes with the authority of a trained historian and the accessibility of a gifted storyteller. The prose is clear, the organization logical, and the scholarship evident without being obtrusive. For Catholic readers, this book offers an expanded sense of their own tradition's richness. For non-Catholic readers, it offers a window into a history that has been, in many accounts, strangely incomplete.
Essential reading for anyone interested in Church history, women's history, or the long and complex story of how faith has shaped the world. Highly recommended.
The premise is deceptively simple. While many Catholics can name great female saints, Catherine of Siena, Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Ávila, a persistent assumption lingers that women's contributions have been exceptional rather than foundational. McShea dismantles this assumption with scholarly rigor and narrative grace. From imperial Rome to Reformation Europe, from colonial Latin America to Cold War America, she traces a lineage of women whose creativity, courage, and fidelity shaped not only Catholic institutions but entire civilizations.
What distinguishes this survey is its breadth and its nuance. McShea profiles canonized saints alongside women awaiting beatification, figures of institutional power alongside those whose influence was quieter but no less consequential. She attends carefully to context, the specific challenges faced by women in each era, the constraints they navigated, the strategies they deployed. The result is not a hagiography but a genuine history: women emerge as complex figures, fully human, whose holiness was forged in the particular circumstances of their time and place.
The cumulative effect is transformative. McShea demonstrates that the history of Catholic women is not a subcategory of Church history. It is Church history. The women she profiles did not merely assist male leaders or serve as exemplars of passive virtue. They founded religious orders, advised popes, negotiated peace treaties, established hospitals and schools, resisted tyrannical regimes, and sustained communities through periods of persecution and crisis. Their influence, McShea argues persuasively, has repeatedly saved the Church from corruption, disunity, and destruction.
McShea writes with the authority of a trained historian and the accessibility of a gifted storyteller. The prose is clear, the organization logical, and the scholarship evident without being obtrusive. For Catholic readers, this book offers an expanded sense of their own tradition's richness. For non-Catholic readers, it offers a window into a history that has been, in many accounts, strangely incomplete.
Essential reading for anyone interested in Church history, women's history, or the long and complex story of how faith has shaped the world. Highly recommended.
November 29, 2024
Excellent review of woman who contributed, led, or suffered death via the Catholic Church. Many known and unknown saints, princesses/queens, and politically powerful wives, sisters, or daughters.
Chapters are chronologically arranged from the birth of Christ to current times and the author cites numerous sources. Mainly European, Eastern orthodox, some African, and the Americas. Interesting and informative. Great historical overview by explaining the cultural, economic, and political aspects of each time period.
Chapters are chronologically arranged from the birth of Christ to current times and the author cites numerous sources. Mainly European, Eastern orthodox, some African, and the Americas. Interesting and informative. Great historical overview by explaining the cultural, economic, and political aspects of each time period.
August 28, 2024
Appreciated the focus on collaboration between women and men since the beginning of Church history.
But honestly, it felt like I was reading a list. Maybe this was the goal, but for an introduction that hinted at the need for more inspiration for young Catholic women to see those who led the way in the Church, the prose fell short. It's an important topic, but wasn't a very engaging read.
But honestly, it felt like I was reading a list. Maybe this was the goal, but for an introduction that hinted at the need for more inspiration for young Catholic women to see those who led the way in the Church, the prose fell short. It's an important topic, but wasn't a very engaging read.
May 7, 2024
Informative and well researched
December 30, 2024
Excellent historical reflection on the role and influence of women in the church. I own this book and any friend of mine can borrow it if wanted.
January 12, 2025
Basic introduction. Moves fast. Left me wanting more.
April 30, 2025
A great little treasury of Catholic women who have impacted the Catholic Church. A great read for anyone who is interested in Catholicism and women's history!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews