Antonio Hernández DeusAfrican women stand out for their hope and optimism".Maria Lia Zervino: "WUCWO is a mosaic of women united in a common love for the Church".There is always a lot of talk about the role of the woman in the Church, often forgetting the many examples of dedication witnessed over the centuries by many women in the fields of education, spirituality, social promotion, peace and dialogue, for example, as true "artisans of the human". The next conference international and inter-university conference, to be held in Rome on March 7 and 8, 2024 at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, aims to draw inspiration from these examples.
In particular, the congress will dwell in detail on the great female contributions to the Church and evangelization in different eras and countries through ten emblematic women, but different in style and dedication, starting with St. Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947), Magdeleine of Jesus (1898-1989), for the themes of dignity, dialogue and peace; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) and Mary Mackillop (1842-1909) for the theme of charity in education; St. Catherine of Siena (1874-1949) and Catherine Tekakwitha (1656-1680) for the theme of prayer.
And again, the figures of St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) and Rebecca-Rafqa Ar-Rayès (1832-1914) will be highlighted as "compassionate heart", while the testimonies of Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi (1884-1965) and the Venerable Daphrose Mukansanga (1944-1994) will be given as "fruitfulness of gift".
These figures will be presented during the two-day Congress by academics, biographers and historians, including Susan Timoney of the Catholic University of America, Maeve Heaney of the Catholic University of Australia, Maronite Patriarchal Vicar Rafic Warcha and Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. The final reflections will be entrusted to the Academic Vice Rector of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Cristina Reyes.
The Promoter Committee is composed of the Catholic University of Avila (UCAV), the Pontifical Urbaniana University, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, the Institute of Higher Studies on Women of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum and the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum of Rome.
The event is also sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and the Section for Fundamental Questions of Evangelization in the World of the Dicastery for Evangelization and will be organized in preparation for the Jubilee of 2025. It will also be broadcast on the youtube channels of the organizing universities in Italian, Spanish, English and French.
Participants will be able to contribute a free offering that will benefit a charitable project in the Holy Land.
