Have you ever heard it said that the Catholic Church oppresses women? Many are quick to pass judgment on what they think is the truth of the Catholic faith. In reality, the Catholic Church esteems women and calls us to live out the beauty of our femininity in a way that brings glory and honor to God.
Today, we have compiled a list of 24 inspiring Catholic women that prove there is no oppression going on in the Chuch. This list includes women that range in age, location, occupation, and stage in life. They are a diverse group of women living out the call of the Catholic Church to make disciples of all nations. These women lead conferences, write books, help the poor, stand for life, and travel the word sharing the Good News of Christ. Many have founded apostolates that are impacting thousands of people each day. They are changing lives in powerful ways all for the glory of God.
Who would you add to this list of Catholic Women? Let us know in the comments!
*I want to note that there are no religious sisters on this list for a reason. Of course, there are many outstanding consecrated women doing great things for the Lord (and we will present a list of those women soon!), but this list is focused specifically on lay women involved in apostolates. This was done to prove to the critics that ALL women in the Catholic faith can (and do!) work to further the Kingdom of God. A religious vocation is a beautiful calling, but single and married women can also find many ways to serve!
Update: When I originally wrote this post, the idea was to create a list of women that had personally inspired me so that they might also inspire others. The intention was to create a simple list of women being led by the Holy Spirit that would help to show critics of the faith that the Church really does empower women, but this post did more than that.
As soon as the original list was published, comments and suggestions of the names of several Catholic women flooded my inbox. Some women I was familiar with, but carelessly forgot to include (sorry! I’m going to try to blame the fact that I’m a busy mom to 5 children and experiencing beginning of the school year stress…). Many others were names and ministries that were new to me. Needless to say, I was absolutely floored at the response.
There are SO many women out in our world today giving their lives to serve Christ. These women are giving everything to advance the Kingdom. Click on each name to find out more about work they are doing.
Learn about them. Learn from them. Support them. Pray for them. Be inspired by them!
More Incredible Catholic Women You Need to Know About:
- Lila Rose – President of Live Action
- Monica Ashour – Speaker and Author with Theology of the Body Evangelization Team
- Becky Eldredge – Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and author
- Brooke Taylor – Good Things Radio Podcast
- Simcha Fisher – Natural Family Planning Expert, Author, and Speaker
- Dr. Carole Brown – Director of the Office of New Evangelization Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
- Pat Gohn – Author of Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious
- Lisa Brenninkmeyer – Founder of Walking With Purpose
- Samantha Povlock – Founder + Creative Director of FemCatholic
- Tami Kiser – Founder of the online Catholic Conference for Moms
- Lacy Rabideau – Creates Kid-friendly crafts for every Catholic event, sacrament, holy day, etc.
- Cassie Pease – Founder of Cassie Pease Designs
- ValLimar Jansen – Singer and Speaker
- Laura Kelly Fanucci – Author, Blogger – List of prayers for each month of pregnancy
- Annie Deddens – Founder of PrayMoreNovenas.com
- Immaculée Ilibagiza – Author of Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
- Audrey Assad – Singer/Songwriter
- Anna Mitchell – SonRise Morning Show Producer
- Mary McFlores – Outreach Coordinator at Culture of Life Studies Program
- Jenna Guizar – Founder of Blessed Is She
- Stephanie Gray – International Pro-Life Speaker
- Star Parker – Founder and President of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education
- Debbie Herbeck – Be Love Revolution
- Colleen Kelly Mast – Author of 3 abstinence education programs including “Growing Up with Health and Virtue” for Catholics
- Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle – Author
- Rebecca Kiessling – Pro-life Speaker
- Hallie Lord – Author and Speaker
- Cailin Boswell – Administrator of Catholic Teen Posts
- Camille Pauly – President of Healing the Culture
- Dr. Marguerite Duane – Founder of FACTS
- Kendra Tierney – Providing ideas for families to live out the Catholic faith
- Rebecca Dussault – Founder of Fit Catholic Mom
- Esmeralda Kiczek – Co-creator of Dolls from Heaven
- Jennifer Baugh – Founder of Young Catholic Professionals
- Emily Wilson – Author, Worship Leader, Speaker
- Elizabeth Foss – Author
- Heather Renshaw – Host of the Visitation Project
Isn’t this an amazing collection of Catholic women?! Share this list to show that Catholic women are vital to the ministry of the Catholic Church. Not one of these women feels oppressed by Church teaching!
The most inspiring part is that not only are women out serving the world through these ministries, millions more are becoming Saints within in their own homes, religious communities, and local parishes by showing others the love of Christ through their sacrificial love.
If you know someone that should be included on this list, please leave her name and a link in the comments!
