At our parish, St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, North Carolina, we celebrated St. Phoebe Day on September 3rd, 2023 at each of our parish’s Masses. At each Mass, a female parishioner shared a reflection, “God of the Women ” was used as the offertory hymn and the Prayers of the Faithful included a prayer for the further acknowledgement of women’s participation in the Church. A group of women were present after each Mass to answer questions from parishioners, and prayer cards were distributed with images of St. Phoebe’s icon. The parish bulletin for the week included a letter from our pastor explaining the commemoration of St. Phoebe. We are a large parish, so we had the opportunity to share with many during our normal Sunday Masses.

The response from parishioners after Mass was overwhelming! Many women approached with tears in their eyes, expressing how incredibly meaningful it was for them to hear about the witness of St. Phoebe, and for the role of women in the Church to be acknowledged so explicitly. One woman in particular said that the hymn, “God of the Women,” brought tears to her eyes. Before our celebration, 10 women from the parish joined together to pray and prepare for our St. Phoebe day celebration. This was such a profound experience. A few of the women shared reflections at the Masses, and we met together to workshop and practice these reflections. This was deeply rewarding and humbling to be in this community of women supporting and praying for one another. 

We look forward to celebrating St. Phoebe day again in future years, and are excited to continue this conversation at our parish. So many of the parish had never heard of St. Phoebe–her witness will continue to inform and animate us!