Women of value

A woman of value, who will find her? At the end of January, there were several strong and virtuous women at the Vatican Apostolic Library. Moreover, as in the biblical poem [Proverbs 31:10-31], they are capable of making a difference, esteemed; open to the signs of the times. Influential, strategic in the results they achieve in the fields they work in, with broad horizons that share a common foundation: the good of others. Nuns are these prepared and dedicated religious women, whose lives tell stories of significant female achievements, as noted by Jane Wakahiu of the Little Sisters of St Francis. Born in Nairobi and raised in a small rural village in Kenya, today, she is the associate vice president of program operations and head of the Catholic Sisters initiative at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

The attendees came from all over the world to participate in a global conference organized for the Jubilee by the Dicastery for Communication, which was held in the magnificently decorated Sistine chapel. The Council of Nicaea fresco, which represents the first ecumenical council in the history of the Church, marks its 1,700 anniversary this year, therefore with a particular appeal.

At one point, at the same table, there were the following: Abby Avelino, a Filipina from the Dominican Sisters of Maryknoll, who for two years has been the international coordinator of the anti-trafficking network Talitha Kum; and, Alessandra Smerilli, an Italian Salesian economist, who for four years has been the Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. In 2021, Alessandra Smerilli held the highest position ever to be held by a woman in the Vatican Curia’s hierarchy. In addition, she was the first woman to serve as a State Counselor of the Vatican City. At the table, there was Helen Alford, a Dominican from the UK with a degree in engineering management, and since 2023, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Nathalie Becquart, a French Xaverian, who since 2021 has been the Undersecretary at the Synod of Bishops. Also present at the table were Norma Pimentel and Rosemary Nyirumbe, two women whom the American magazine Time has included in recent years among the 100 most influential women in the world. Pimentel is the Mexican-American missionary who has dedicated her life to helping migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Nyirumbe, a Ugandan from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the nun who restores dignity to child soldiers in Central Africa, and was named CNN’s Hero of the Year in 2007.

These Women are capable of overturning conventions. So, after the coffee break, also at the table were Dominic Dipio, a professor at Makerere University in Uganda, and Mumbi Kigutha, born in Kenya, a Sister of the Precious Blood of Dayton, Ohio, now president of the non-profit organization Friends in Solidarity. Also present was Paola Moggi, a Comboni Missionary from Italy, who as a journalist has spent her life in Africa. And Rose Pacatte, a Pauline from the United States, a film critic, and multimedia expert, as well as Lismy Parayl Chandy, an Indian from the Congregation of the Mothers of Carmel, a filmmaker affectionately nicknamed “Camera Nun”, though she says, “I am a Carmelite nun, not a camera nun”.

After the lunch-break, Neusa Santos, a Brazilian from the Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR), and Vassa Larin, an Orthodox Russian-American naturalized citizen and a university professor of Church history; and, Nina Krapic, from the Theological-Pastoral Department of the Dicastery for Communication, led by Nataša Govekar, joined the table.

Dominic Dipio, who studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University and works in Cinematography, spoke about communication, and shared the African proverb, echoed by all those present, “As long as the lion has not learned to tell his story, the hunter will tell it, and he will always have the better part”. A small warning.