Freedom, Justice and Sincerity: Reflections on the Life and Spirituality of Mary Ward

Here is an inspiring story that has been muted over the past 400 years. For much of this time, Mary Ward’s role in changing the place of women in the Church was suppressed by Church authorities with their own unshakeable version of what women could (or could not) achieve. This remarkable Englishwoman, who began her company of sisters in 1609-11, today has followers in large cities and remote villages, in schools, universities and parishes and in justice networks, retreat centres and welfare services on every continent. Yet this was a woman who was ridiculed and imprisoned for pursuing her basic belief that women could both be religious and work to build the faith of their neighbours. It was not until 1909 that the Catholic Church finally allowed her sisters to name her as founder of the Institute. Christine Burke’s volume celebrates the life of a woman of great faith and insight – always loyal to the church, resourceful, courageous and determined, a woman who never gave up on her own truth. The author, Loreto Sister, Dr Christine Burke IBVM has taught theology in Australia for a number of years and is at present in a senior leadership position in her Congregation.