I have loved sharing about St. Phoebe with my theology classes and to my entire school community! As a female theology teacher in an all-female Catholic school, I have struggled to make sense of the patriarchal model that exists within our Catholic faith community. Although I see the incredible work that women in ministry are currently doing and have done throughout the Church’s history, I feel there is a limit to vocations which are restricted by gender.

I have incorporated lessons into my sophomore and senior theology classes around St. Phoebe Day in September that invite students to consider women’s role in the Church, St. Phoebe’s legacy and the history of women’s diaconal ordination. I have listened to young women’s laments around the sexist language they hear in Catholic worship and prayers, and we have shared and dreamed together our hopes for a more inclusive Church that sees women represented on the altar.

In September 2024, I led weekly prayers during all-school morning prayers about St. Phoebe, and recruited representatives from the faculty and staff to share with students about women in ministry who had made an impact on their life.

I also just completed a Capstone research paper for my Masters degree in Religious Education at Loyola University New Orleans. My paper’s topic was the lack of ordained ministry for women in the Catholic Church. I interviewed lay women of all ages, a priest, women religious and an ordained woman of another faith about their views on women’s ministry.

My research clearly demonstrated that many women have heard the call in the Catholic Church to ordained ministry, and even those who have not have been profoundly impacted by the gift of women’s ministry in their lives. It is certainly time for Church leaders to listen to the cries of women who are ready to answer the call to serve as deacons.