Two weeks ago the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. It was a special moment, as Pope Leo was born in the great city of Chicago 70 years ago. They talked about their shared values of protecting worker and immigration rights, as well as an extended invitation to celebrate mass in Grant Park.
It is important to note that Chicago became an established settlement in the 18th century by an entrepreneur of Haitian and French descent named Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable. From then on it was built upon the backs of diverse immigrants such as the Irish, German, Swedish, Polish, Italian, and other Europeon backgrounds. They built the city's railroads, stockyards, and other important infrastructure vital to the livelihood of what we know Chicago as today. Additionally, an influx of African-Americans contributed, and were essential, to the city's growth, where they served as leaders, activists, and community builders.
Mayor Johnson presented the Pope with a slew of gifts ranging from sports memorabilia, cultural apparel, city-themed gifts including the Chicago flag, local honey, and many other things such as a key to the city. However, a special gift hidden away was a book that begun at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. It traveled up to one of the smallest states, New Jersey. There it went from written words, through a rigorous process, and finally in to a perfect-bound book. Hot off the press, not knowing which direction it was going, it found it's way to the bustling city of Chicago. Once there, and unknowingly, it arrived in the hands of our good mayor, Brandon Johnson. He decided to pack it with a few other books, and put it on a plane that was destined for the Vatican City. That little book, that begun all the way back in the hands of two professors in Notre Dame Indiana was now in the hands of Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church.
This story does not end, and will not end just there. This book, The Legacies of Sr. Madeleva Wolff, CSC edited by Jessica Coblentz and Susan Mancino, published by Paulist Press, could have a similar journey, and ultimately end up in your hands just like it ended up in Pope Leo's.
Jessica Coblentz is associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, IN, and earned her PhD in systematic theology at Boston College.
Susan Mancino is associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Dance, and Theatre at St. Mary's College. She earned her PhD in rhetoric at Duquesne University.
Beginning in 1985, the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, has hosted the annual Madeleva Lecture. This book is a one-volume anthology of essential selections from this world-class program.
Delivered annually, these lectures feature leading women theologians and scholars of religion from across an array of theological disciplines. The editors have organized the selections under a number of chapters: "Prayer and Spirituality," "The Church," "Holy Women," "Gender and Sexuality," and "Culture and Dialogue." The collection features contributions from world-renowned authors such as Elizabeth Johnson, Sandra Schneiders, M. Shawn Copeland, Joan Chittister, Kathleen Norris, Ilia Delio, and others.
The volume concludes with the text of the Madeleva Manifesto and a complete list of all the lectures.
Jessica Coblentz, PhD, is associate professor of religious studies and theology at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Daniel P. Horan, PhD, is professor of philosophy, religious studies, and theology and director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
In the 2025 Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality, Kathleen Sprows Cummings marked the lecture's 40th anniversary by speaking about the complex and overlapping ways U.S. Catholic sisters "made history" throughout its founding era. As actors and archivists, as scholars and subjects, and as seekers and tellers of the truth, these "holy women" dared to tell new stories about themselves, their communities, and their church. Today, these rewritten narratives not only help us better understand the past, but also inspire us to imagine a new future.
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, PhD, is Rev. John A. O'Brien Collegiate Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana.
In this, the 2024 Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality given at St. Mary's College, South Bend, Indiana, Natalia Imperatori-Lee asks, "Is there something about women doing theology that is inherently incredible or unbelievable?" Why are the stories of some more readily believed than those of others—namely those of women and especially women of color. This dynamic has been present in the church since Mary Magdalene brought news of the resurrection to the apostles on Easter morning, and they didn't believe her. It continues to this day.
Natalia Imperatori-Lee is professor of religious studies at Manhattan University in Reverdale, Bronx, New York.
