"Dinner with 5 People, Living or Dead "- Women's History Month Edition

In honor of Women's History Month, your humble blogger figures it would be cool to give her answer to the question "If you were to have dinner with five people,  living or dead, who would it be and why?", featuring some unsung women who made history in their own way. This particular list isn't comprehensive, but a shout to those you probably wouldn't expect yours truly to mention

Ven. Henriette Delille

Venerable Henriette Delille was the founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family,  a Catholic women's religious congregation for free women of color in antebellum New Orleans. The congregation served among the sick poor in the city's black community in addition to founding a school for girls and an orphanage (1). Delille is declared Venerable, a step in the Catholic  Church's sainthood process.  Check out M. Shawn Copeland's The Subversive Power of Love for an intriguing look at her life and impact. (More on M. Shawn Copeland later)

Dorothy Day

Co-creator of the Catholic Worker movement, Day dedicated her life to those on the margins and to social justice. It's hard to say anything that hasn't already been said about her, so here's a great profile of her from the Sheen Center.

Thea Bowman 

(Picture courtesy of National Catholic Reporter)

Educator, evangelist and activist, Thea Bowman was the first Black sister in her Catholic religious congregation and the first black woman to address the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. She died 30 years ago today and is also on the road to sainthood in the Catholic Church (along with Delille and Day). Here's a nice profile on her and Claire Swinarski's fantastic interview on The with someone who knew her here

Mathilda Beasley

(Photo courtesy of Aleteia)

Like Henriette Delille, Mother Mathilda Beasley was a Black religious sister in the 19th Century South. Pre Civil War, she taught Black children, despite it being illegal in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. That fact ialone was enough to put her on you humble blogger's list. Beasley went on to found the first Black Catholic women's religious order in Georgia.  Aleteia's article on her is one to check out.

M. Shawn Copeland 

(Picture courtesy of America Magazine)

Theologian and scholar M. Shawn Copeland's book Enfleshing Freedom was a game changer for your humble blogger when reading it. Thus, the list is rounded out with this former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the first Black woman to hold the position. It's easier to show rather  than explain why yours truly would love to have a dinner with this phenomenal figure,  so check out this.