The first session of the Synod on Synodality -at which 54 women had voting rights-, has just concluded in Rome. A second Synod is going to take place in October 2024; exactly sixty years since 23 women entered Vatican Council II. In 1964, there were 10 female religious and 13 laywomen. However, on that occasion, they were auditors without voting rights.

The conciliar mothers, who made their entrance into St Peter’s at the end of September 1964, had a wealth of experience and were convinced believers, yet they knew that none would have the right to speak, nor would they be able to vote. Nevertheless, among themselves they were very active, cohesive and determined not to miss what was an opportunity for all women in the world. After all, if the Council addressed the women’s question only marginally, it is true that it offered new perspectives for “the other half of humankind”.