2007 Awards
Elizabeth Makowski, Distinguished Book Award
Presented to Elizabeth Makowski at the Occasion of the seventh Triennial Conference of the History of Women Religious, held at the University of Notre Dame, June 24–27, 2007.
Whereas Dr. Elizabeth Makowski, in her work ‘Pernicious Sort of Woman’: Quasi Religious Women and Canon Lawyers in the Later Middle Ages, has given us in her scholarly and engaging discussion a clearer understanding of the spectrum of women’s religious life through several centuries;
Whereas Dr. Makowski has helped us to understand the status of devout women in the Middle Ages, specifically secular canonesses, beguines and tertiaries, who remained dedicated to their religious lives in spite of the adverse responses from contemporaries;
Whereas Dr. Makowski has so ably presented the papal decrees regarding the canonical status of these women which censured these groups without condemning them, and the canon lawyers who in their commentaries interpreted these papal statements much more restrictively and thus condemned these groups as “pernicious women;”
Whereas Dr. Makowski has also shown us the actual practice of the church courts and the tension encountered between these academics and legal consultants who were more supportive of these dedicated women whom they recognized did not feel called to conventional religious life;
Whereas Dr. Makowski has given us a learned and thoughtful study which makes an original and valuable contribution to the study of female piety in the Middle Ages:
Therefore, be it so resolved that The History of Women Religious Conference presents Dr. Elizabeth Makowski with the Distinguished Book Award during the triennial meeting at Notre Dame University, June 26, 2007.
Suellen Hoy, Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented to Suellen Hoy, Ph.D., on the Occasion of the Seventh Triennial Conference on the History of Women Religious, held at the University of Notre Dame, June 24–27, 2007.
Whereas Suellen Hoy, a distinguished scholar in the fields of public and urban history, turned her interests toward the scholarship of women’s religious history, and, in particular, to the experiences of Roman Catholic religious women in a number of venues; and
Whereas Suellen Hoy has applied her exceptional analytical skills to produce ground-breaking histories of women religious that have effectively challenged deep-rooted stereotypes about sisters and broadened public awareness of the historic significance of their lives and works; and
Whereas Suellen Hoy’s meticulously researched and elegantly written books and articles have powerfully countered the long-neglected history of women religious to reveal how sisters, through their individual and collective agency, energized the sense of spiritual and secular justice associated with American Catholicism; and
Whereas Suellen Hoy’s numerous publications are admirably represented by her recent book, Good Hearts: Catholic Sisters in Chicago’s Past (2006), which examines growth and change across congregations as sisters in different areas of work assumed leadership roles in promoting equality for Chicago’s most denied and at-risk citizens, and by her 2004 article, “Stunned with Sorrow,” which reconstructs events surrounding a devastating 1958 Chicago parochial school fire and reclaims from the margins of American Catholic history the personal histories of the three sisters who perished in the blaze; and
Whereas Suellen Hoy has splendidly enriched American historical scholarship by devoting many years of her professional life to writing the history of women religious, to promoting this field within the historical canon, and to advancing its practitioners; therefore
Be it resolved that the Conference on the History of Women Religious here assembled confers on Suellen Hoy, Ph.D. the Lifetime Achievement Award. Given the twenty-sixth day of June in the year of Our Lord two thousand and seven, at the conference, “Local Cultures/Global Church: Challenge and Mission in the History of Women Religious,” gathered at the Center for Continuing Education, McKenna Hall, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
Irene Mahoney, Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented to Irene Mahoney, O.S.U., at the Occasion of the seventh Triennial Conference of the History of Women Religious, held at the University of Notre Dame, June 24–27, 2007.
Whereas Sister Irene has been a dedicated member of the Ursuline Nuns for many years and has demonstrated her care to stimulate research relating to her Order by establishing archives for her province in the 1990s and promoting the preservation of historical collections at many Ursuline site in the United States; and
Whereas Sister Irene’s scholarly work throughout her career has exhibited a rare mastery of skills ranging from the creative and dramatic to the literary and erudite, thus rendering history accessible to general and specialized readers alike; and
Whereas her novel, An Accidental Grace (1982) and performance pieces: “Portraits of Angela Merici” (1985), “All That I Am: Forgotten Church Women” (1987), “Not by Half: Mother Clare Cusack” (1990), “Off With Their Heads! An Exaltation of Nuns” (1995), along with her exploration of women’s spirituality in A Company of Women, Journeys through the Feminine Experience of Faith (1996) have enabled new audiences to learn about and draw inspiration from the history of women religious; and
Whereas Sister Irene’s publications on Ursuline origins and spirituality, particularly her biography of the seventeenth century founder, Marie of the Incarnation: Mystic and Missionary (1964) and her edition of the founder’s writings, translated from the French, Marie of the Incarnation: Selected Writings (1989) have set a high standard for others in the field; and
Whereas Sister Irene’s research and publications on Ursuline missionary endeavors, Swatow: Ursulines in China (1996; French translation, Avec Toi jusqu’au bout du Monde, 1997); A Far Country: Ursuline Mission in Thailand (1999, translated into French as Un Pays si Lointain, 1999, and Thai, 2005); and most recently, Lady Blackrobes: Missionaries in the Heart of Indian Country (2006), resonate with the theme of this Triennial Conference; therefore
Be it resolved that the Conference on the History of Women Religious here assembled confers on Irene Mahoney, O.S.U., the Lifetime Achievement Award. Given the twenty-sixth of June in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, at the conference, “Local Cultures/Global Church: Challenge and Mission in the History of Women Religious,” gathered at the Center for Continuing Education, McKenna Hall, the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
Elizabeth Kolmer, Distinguished Historian Award
Presented to Elizabeth Kolmer, A.S.C., at the occasion of the Seventh Triennial Conference on the History of Women Religious, held at the University of Notre Dame, June 2427, 2007.
Whereas Sister Elizabeth helped bring the history of women religious into the mainstream of historical research through her pioneer bibliographic survey, “Catholic Women Religious and Women’s History,” first published in the American Quarterly (1978) and later anthologized in American Catholic Religious Life: Selected Historical Essays (ed. White, 1988), and in the 20-volume set, History of Women in America (ed., Cott, vol. 13, 1993); and
Whereas her bibliographic research was recognized for its importance in securing a place for religious in the field of women’s history through these works and the chapter she contributed to Women in American Religion (ed. James, 1980); and
Whereas her monograph, Religious Women in the United States Since 1950 (1984) stood for several decades as the most systematic and comprehensive review of the literature available to researchers; and
Whereas her distinguished achievements at St. Louis University as professor and director of American Studies over a forty-year period, as well as her volunteer work– nationally, with the African Faith and Justice Network, and locally, in Social Justice Ministry to the Homeless, have afforded her opportunities to model the highest ideals of scholarship and service that typify women religious; and
Whereas her research and publications relative to her congregation have illuminated the meaning of witness and martyrdom in contemporary times; and
Whereas her contributions to the History of Women Religious Network in various capacities since its inception have fostered its growth as a service to the scholarly community worldwide; therefore
Be it resolved that the Conference on the History of Women Religious here assembled confers on Elizabeth Kolmer, A.S.C., the Lifetime Achievement Award. Give the twenty-sixth of June in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, at the conference, “Local Cultures/Global Church: Challenge and Mission in the History of Women Religious,” gathered at the Center for Continuing Education, McKenna Hall, the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
These award citations were presented at the Conference on the History of Women Religious in 2007.