-
#WomensWednesday nº6 & 1st Collaboration – 7th January 2026: Ellen Ammann (1870–1932): A Pioneer of Catholic Social Reform and Women’s Political Mobilization in Bavaria
Post by: Professor Yvonne Maria Werner, LUX, Historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet Ellen Ammann was a Swedish-born Catholic social reformer, educator, and politician whose work left a lasting imprint on Bavarian Catholic social life in the early twentieth century. Her life and achievements illustrate how religious conviction, social engagement, and women’s emerging…
-
#WomensWednesday nº5 – 10th December 2025: Christine de Hemptinne (1895–1984) — Catholic Action, Gender, the Global Cold War, and the Paradoxes of Decolonization
Christine Eugénie Marie Ghislaine de Hemptinne was born on 1 December 1895 in Ghent, Belgium, into an aristocrat Catholic family. Her life and work exemplify the dynamic role of laywomen in shaping Catholic internationalism during the 20th century. Combining local social engagement with global ecclesial diplomacy, she became a key…
-
#WomensWednesday – nº 4: 15th of September 2025 – Catholic, Committed, Internationalist: The Legacy of Florentine Steenberghe-Engeringh (1875–1952) in the Netherlands and Beyond
Born in Utrecht on April 10, 1875, Petronille Aimée Florentine Engeringh, better known as Florentine Steenberghe-Engeringh, was a pioneering figure in Dutch Catholic social and women’s organizations. Raised in an upper-bourgeois family, she received her education from the Sacred Heart nuns in Belgium. Although societal norms prevented her from attending university,…
-
#WomensWednesday – nº 3: 10th of September 2025. The World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO). A Century of Catholic Women’s Global Leadership*
Founded in 1910 as the International Union of Catholic Women’s Leagues, WUCWO emerged in response to growing anticlericalism and secularization in Europe**. Its mission was to promote Catholic social action and values, and to defend religious freedom. The organization became truly international after World War II, adopting its current name…
-
Rewriting the Canon: Why We Need a Genealogy of Women’s Catholic Thought Today
In July 2024, the Vatican announced that its doctrinal office would prepare a document on women in leadership roles within the Catholic Church, marking a significant step toward acknowledging their participation in ecclesiastical life. While Pope Francis has reaffirmed the ban on women priests, he has also appointed women to…
-
Women’s Wednesday: Launching the Digital Archive of Lay Women
To celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, TheoFem is launching a new initiative: Women’s Wednesday, a biweekly publication forming part of the Digital Archive of Lay Women. This space aims to bring visibility to the lives, legacies, and contributions of laywomen—those often overlooked in official narratives. It also seeks to…
