Dominican Women Through the Ages
Women have always been part of the Dominican Order, interested, 
active, participating as much as they could in its mission. At Prouilhe, near Toulouse, the first convent of women was established in 1206. This convent, which served as a base for the preaching work, was called the "Praedicatio Jesu Christi", the "Preaching of Jesus Christ". Within it were women who shared the same enthusiasm for the proclamation of God's word as did Dominic and the other men…
Diana..
In Bologna, it was the noblewoman, Diana of Andalò who sought out Dominic and to whom he explained the nature and task of the Order. She was set on fire by his zeal. and before long, her hands placed in his, she made profession. Her example was followed by many other women in Bologna and elsewhere…
Mechtilde, a mystic and a writer..
From the thirteenth century, we hear of Helen and Margaret who belonged to the royal family of Hungary; Mechtilde of Magdeburg who wrote many books about her prayer experiences which enjoyed great popularity after her death; and Agnes of Montepulciano who helped many people during her life and at whose tomb Catherine of Siena loved to pray…
Women of the fourteenth century who lived within the enclosure of their monasteries and who contributed greatly to the growth of mysticism in the Rhineland were Christine Ebner, Margaret Ebner, Adelaide Langmann and Elizabeth Stagel. It is thanks to these and others that many of the sermons of Meister Eckhart, John Tauler and Henry Suso were written down and preserved…
From South America..{mospagebreak}A cloistered Dominican woman who was remarkable in the seventeenth century was Aña of Peru. At her beatification it was pointed out that although she lived an enclosed life, she had an extraordinary influence on the society of her day, and developed in her contemporaries a desire for justice and a concern for the oppressed.
Therese - captured by pirates..
From the next century, we hear of Theresa Chikaba, a native of West Africa, who was captured by pirates and brought to Spain. After becoming a christian she tried to become a religious but was at first refused because she was black; later however she was received into the Dominican monastery at Salamanca where she lived a life of exemplary holiness.
Zedislava, a Slav..
There was the Slav, ZedisIava Berka, a married woman who in the early days of the Order met the friars, Hyacinth and, Ceslaus of Poland, and attracted to the Dominican ideal, made profession as a lay Dominican and then gave herself to teaching and to caring for the poor and the sick.
Margaret was blind...
A little later in the same century a courageous Italian woman called Margaret of Castello lived the Dominican lay vocation. Although she was blind and deformed, she was constantly visited by troubled people in her home town whom she was able to comfort and encourage.
Rose of Lima.. {mospagebreak}
From the sixteenth century we meet Rose of Lima, another lay Dominican and the first canonized saint of the Americas. She combined a deep mystical life with a life of service to oppressed Indians and African slaves. Her care of them was so exceptional that to this day in Latin America she is remembered as a "mother of the poor."
Jane, a seamstress..
Another outstanding Dominican woman of the thirteenth century was Jane of Orvieto who earned her living as a seamstress and at the same time led a life of deep prayer. Although she was poor she always managed to care for some others who were even poorer…
Martyrs, from Japan, from Ireland..
A century later in Japan, Magdalene of Nagasaki gave her life for the christian faith during a time of cruel persecution. She was among the group of Japanese martyrs beatified by John Paul II in 1987. Another Dominican woman martyr of the same period was Honoria Burke (De Burgo) from Ireland who at the time of Cromwell's persecution was tortured by soldiers until she died. In the Acts of the General Chapter of the Order of 1656 she is expressly named a martyr…
A Spanish Dominican, {mospagebreak}
a lay-woman who showed unlimited concern for the needy and the homeless in the twentieth century was Praxedes Fernandez. We are told that during the civil war in her country her ministry in the church surpassed that of many priests "at a time when the ministry of the laity was almost unknown in the church".
What all of these women down the centuries right to our own have in common is their Dominican calling which they have lived out actively according to their particular circumstances. When we read their stories, what comes across strongly is their spontaneous, compassionate response to the concrete needs and sufferings of their respective environments, and their ability to express in new ways the Order's mission to evangelize, teach and liberate people.
(Extracts from Catherine of Siena, by Mary O'Driscoll, OP. Editions du Signe,1994, pp 44-46.) Mary is a member of the Cabra Dominicans.