Religion News Service

In February, the pope named Sr. Nathalie Becquart, the French religious sister of the Congregation of Xavières to become the undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, a summit of church leaders at the Vatican set to address the most cogent topics facing the institution. She is among the women and lay people helping to shape the future of the institution. 

A growing number of women hold consequential positions in the church and at the Vatican. Nuns in the United States have been among those setting the pace. 

Ann Russell Miller was a wealthy socialite, not a woman of moderation. But more than 30 years ago, Miller took vows of silence and poverty to become Sr. Mary Joseph at a Carmelite monastery in Illinois. She died there June 5.

It took some getting used to, but Sr. Maria Minerva Morales is now a faithful user of a cell phone app where she documents her interactions with people she ministers to.

A Catholic nun, kneeling before armed forces in Myanmar and begging them not to open fire on protesters, has become a symbol for the protests against the military coup that destabilized the country in February.

The former Hollywood art studio of a Catholic religious sister who was known for her pop art covering racism, poverty and misogyny appears to have been spared from the wrecking ball after all.

The letter accuses "some elected officials" of making "the immoral choice to hold onto power at any cost, including disenfranchising thousands, denying their most sacred gift: their voice."

Sr. Ardeth Platte, a Dominican order nun who fought for nuclear disarmament and later served as an inspiration for a character on the popular Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black," died in her sleep at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30.

Pope Francis sent his support to a cloistered nun in his native Argentina who opened a safe home for transgender women despite the opposition of her diocese and community.

An article in a Jesuit magazine describing alleged exploitation of nuns in Catholic convents has been criticized as an attempt to silence members of women's religious orders who have begun to speak out against sexual abuse by priests.

It has been more than four years since the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit first began their legal battle against California's requirement that insurance plans cover abortions. For the most part, the sisters had hit brick walls and disappointments — until last month, when the Trump administration brought attention to their efforts and the state's response.

Aida Sansor and Maria Teresa Pacheco have traveled the Eastern Coachella Valley area, seeking to connect with the indigenous Purépecha community. Sansor and Pacheco are with Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit, a nonprofit corporation of Catholic women based in Mexico City.