There Were Also Many Women There

Where are the women in liturgical history? In considering the influential liturgical movement in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century, Katharine E. Harmon reveals that the reality is analogous to Matthew's account of the crucifixion of Jesus: "there were also many women there" (Matt. 27:55).

In this groundbreaking study, Harmon considers women's involvement in the movement. Here, readers explore the contributions of Maisie Ward, Dorothy Day, Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Ade Bethune, Therese Mueller, and many others. Harmon shows how movements and institutions such as progressivism, Catholic women's organizations, Catholic Action, the American Grail Movement, and daily Catholic family life played a prominent role in the liturgical renewal. The historical record is clear that women were there, they ministered to the Mystical Body, and their important work must be recognized.

Katharine E. Harmon is a pastoral liturgist and American Catholic historian currently serving as Associate Professor of Theology at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Indiana. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s liturgical studies program, Harmon has contributed both scholarly and pastoral pieces on topics of liturgical renewal and American Catholic faith and practice, including There Were Also Many Women There: Roman Catholic Lay Women in the American Liturgical Movement, 1926-1959 (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2012). She resides in South Bend, Indiana, with her husband and two children.