The Sisters of Mercy at the Cranaleith Spiritual Center invite you to a virtual program with Kathleen Sprows Cummings.

Registration and program information are available here.

Gender, Power and Canonization:

The Afterlives of Holy Women in U.S. Catholicism

A live virtual program with noted author and professor

Kathleen Sprows Cummings

Sunday, November 1, 2020

1:30 -3:00 pm

Sheila Carney, RSM, vice-postulator for Catherine McAuley, recently observed that “canonization is the way the church knows itself to be holy…the church is holy because its members are holy.” Indeed, by recognizing the men and women who lived lives of heroic virtue, canonization is fundamentally about holiness. And yet, for many saints, the process of canonization has often been marked by unholy elements.

This live program explores those that arose from the church’s refusal (until 1983) to allow women to pursue causes of canonization on their own, forcing them to work through male proxies. In a year when we celebrate the centennial of woman suffrage in the United States, it is particularly timely to consider how women’s lack of representation in the Catholic Church shaped the paths to the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Philippine Duchesne, and St. Katherine Drexel.

Cost: $20. Scholarships are available, because everyone is welcome at Cranaleith. Email us at info@cranaleith.org so we can assist you.