THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Sister Theresa Kane, RSM

September 24, 1936-August 22, 2024

“There’s something really seriously wrong with our church. I don’t think men want to see women as priests. It’s a great loss to our church. They will regret it someday.” – Sr Theresa Kane, 2019

Educator, healthcare administrator and congregational national leader who served in numerous leadership roles during her 69 years of religious life. Elected president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in 1978. Embraced the feminist movement of the 1970s, and was among the first prominent church figures to champion LGBTQ Catholics. Welcomed Pope John Paul II to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. in 1979 during his first visit to the United States as pontiff. During her address, she urged the Pope to consider the possibility of opening all ministries of the Church to women.