Rome (Italy). From 5 March to 21 May 2025, the course – in presence and online, in Italian and English – on: “History of religious women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries” will be held. Organized by the Pontifical Faculty of Education Science «Auxilium» in Rome and promoted by the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), it is taught by Sister Grazia Loparco, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, Professor of Church History at the Faculty.
The course, which will have10 meetings, aims to help deepen the origins and development of religious Congregations and the originality of the apostolate carried out by women, in many cases worldwide, and to reflect on the specific contribution that religious women have made to the evangelizing mission of the Church and to socio-cultural development in the complex contexts of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries.
It is addressed to students enrolled in the Pontifical Universities and Academic Institutions, but also to all those – especially religious women – interested in the subject, who are holders of a higher education degree.
The lectures will take place on Wednesdays from 15:00 to 16:30 (Rome time) in presence at the Faculty and online, with simultaneous translation into English, on the Zoom Platform of UISG.
The following topics will be discussed in depth during the meetings:
- Historiography on women’s religious Congregations and the question of archives.
- Origins and development of religious Congregations: opportunities and internal and external difficulties (social, political, religious, economic conditions)
- The novelty in the institutional model and its implications: centralization of the government of the superior general, fields and works of apostolate, staff mobility, economic sustainability.
- Canonical recognition: constraints and transformations.
- Commitment in the missions: logistical, economic, cultural, and religious challenges; indigenous Congregations in non-Christian countries: resources and possible constraints.
- The Women’s Congregations in times of political, social, and economic emergencies.
- Intra-ecclesial relations (with laity, bishops, priests) and with other Congregations in the progress of ecclesiology.
- Apostolic charity in the different spiritualities and the ecclesial face of women’s religious life.
For those registered at the Pontifical Institutions, attendance is free; for other interested persons, the fee for attendance is 100 euros.
Students enrolled in Faculties/Institutes will be able to take the final examination, recognized in their institution as an optional or free Course, while guests will not be required to do it, but they will be able to choose it, with the recognition of 3 ECTS credits.
To register you must fill in the online form choosing the mode of attendance at the lectures (classroom or online); the language of delivery (Italian or English); the method of participation (recognition of ECTS credits or free).
