Record of the Week: Members of the Legion of Mary

Tomorrow is International Women's Day.

Let's acknowledge all the women who enrich the work of the Church: women religious; members of lay associations and apostolates (see photos below); those who aim to fulfill their vocations as single women or married women.

Photographs Collection PH32L/02P
Photograph of a Mass for the women members of the Legion of Mary at St. Patrick's Parish, Toronto, ca. 1950s

Photographs Collection PH32L/01P
Photograph of a Mass for the women members of the Legion of Mary, at St. Patrick's Parish, Toronto, ca. 1950s

In Pope Francis' first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), the pontiff commented on women in the church:

103. The Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which women make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess. I think, for example, of the special concern which women show to others, which finds a particular, even if not exclusive, expression in motherhood. I readily acknowledge that many women share pastoral responsibilities with priests, helping to guide people, families and groups and offering new contributions to theological reflection. But we need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church. Because “the feminine genius is needed in all expressions in the life of society, the presence of women must also be guaranteed in the workplace”[72] and in the various other settings where important decisions are made, both in the Church and in social structures.