Center for Spirituality hosts 33rd Annual Madeleva Lecture

April 3, 2018 (Notre Dame, IN) — The Saint Mary’s College Center for Spirituality is proud to announce Mercy Amba Oduyoye, will offer the College’s 33rd Annual Madeleva Lecture as the first lecturer from a country outside of the United States. She is the Director of the Institute for Women in Religion and Culture at Trinity Theological Seminary in Ghana. Her lecture, “Women in Africa: Spirituality, Health, and Healing,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 19 in Carroll Auditorium, Madeleva Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Mercy Amba Oduyoye is a renowned theologian, educator, writer, and mentor, and is recognized as the mother of African women’s theologies. For decades, she has worked tirelessly to address issues of poverty, health care, youth empowerment, women’s rights, destructive cultural and religious practices, and global unrest. 

She is an influential leader in the ecumenical movement; her involvement spans over 50 years. She was the first woman president of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians and the founder of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, an organization that encourages African women to research, write, and publish their own books and articles on African issues and concerns. She has authored countless articles and books. Beads and Strands, Introducing African Women’s Theology, and Hearing and Knowing: Theological Reflections on Christianity in Africa are some of her most well-known titles.

The Center for Spirituality is honored to have Oduyoye deliver this year’s Madeleva Lecture said Arlene Montevecchio, director of the Center for Spirituality.

“Her work has inspired countless theologians to rigorously integrate women's experience into theology and to take seriously the social concerns facing the communities they serve,” Montevecchio said.

For more information about the Madeleva Lecture click here or call the Center for Spirituality at (574) 284-4636.

About the Madeleva Lecture Series: The Madeleva Lecture is named for Sister Madeleva Wolff, CSC, who served as President of the College from 1934-1961. Her many accomplishments include the establishment in 1943 of the School of Sacred Theology, the first institution in the United States to provide graduate education in theology to women. Although the school closed in 1971, the lecture series named in her honor has for over three decades given voice to women scholars in the discipline of theology. In 2000, the sixteen past Madeleva lecturers created the Madeleva Manifesto, a document of hope and courage to women in the church. The document is just as timely today as when it was originally written.