Rome, Italy

Today marks the beginning of an unprecedented four-week long Synod where bishops and lay people will discuss the formerly taboo issue of women’s ordination and the need for women’s full participation in the life of the church. For the first time ever, Catholic women will be able to vote alongside men in an attempt to respond to the needs of the church today.

On October 3rd, the eve of the synod, Women’s Ordination Worldwide, an international group that advocates for the opening of all ordained ministries to women, gathered in the Catholic Basilica of St. Praxedes in Rome to pray for the radical inclusion of women in the church. Through personal testimonies, prayer, and preaching, women spoke of the heartbreak and injustice of being barred from ministry on account of their gender.

As Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality opened at the Vatican this morning, nearly forty women from across four continents opened a large purple banner with the message, Ordain Women, in the shadows of the Vatican. A symbolic reference to the synod’s preparatory document urging the church to Enlarge the space of your tent… (Isaiah 54:2), women’s ordination advocates called upon the synod assembly to make room for the voices and vocations of women called to ordained ministry.

“Our presence is a witness to the global calls for women’s ordination, both as a pastoral need and a matter of justice,” said Kate McElwee, the executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, and one of the coordinators of the action. “We ask that the synod attend to the painful injustice of women’s exclusion from ordained ministry with fierce urgency, making room in the synodal tent for the living reality that God calls women to serve the church as priests and deacons.”

“Last night, we stood on holy ground, resuming women’s rightful place at the altar and sending a strong message to the Vatican that women can no longer be silenced and excluded from their own church.” said Miriam Duignan, member of the leadership team for Women’s Ordination Worldwide.

Our actions continue on Friday, October 6th at 3pm with a women’s march. Route begins at San Giovanni dei Fiorentini (Via Acciaioli, 2) processing via Lungotevere Castello (where we have a permit to gather) and will conclude at St. Peter’s Square