Anne E. Patrick, SNJM is William H. Laird Profess of Religion and the Liberal Arts at Carleton College, where she has taught courses in Catholicism, Christian ethics, feminist and liberation theologies, and religion and literature. She has a master's degree in English from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from the University of Chicago. A past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and a founding vice-president of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology, she has also served as a director of the Society of Christian Ethics, and an editor for the Religious Book Club. She is the author of Liberating Conscience: Feminist Explorations in Catholic Moral Theology (Continuum, 1996), and she is now completing Conscience in Context: Vocation, Virtue, and History. A native of Washington, D.C., she is a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, and she currently serves on the board of a medical clinic sponsored by the order in rural Mississippi.
Named after the legendary Sister Madeleva Wolff, CSC, president of Saint Mary's College from 1934 to 1961, the series is well known both nationally and internationally. Some of the most influential women scholars of the past twenty years are past-Madeleva Lecturers. In 2000 the lecturers collaborated as a group to write the now famous “Madeleva Manifesto: A Message of Hope and Courage.” In part, it says
To young women looking for models of prophetic leadership, we say: walk with us as we seek to follow the way of Jesus Christ, who inspires our hope and guides our concerns. The Spirit calls us to a gospel feminism that respects the human dignity of all, and who inspires us to be faithful disciples, to stay in the struggle to overcome oppression of all kinds whether based on gender, sexual orientation, race or class.
To the young women of the church we say: carry forward the cause of gospel feminism. We will be with you along the way, sharing what we have learned about the freedom, joy and power of contemplative intimacy with God. We ask you to join us in a commitment to far-reaching transformation of church and society in non-violent ways.
For a list of past Madeleva lecterers (1985-present), click here .
