This is the fourth in a series of profiles of researchers who were awarded a 2024 Lasallian Research Grant or Lasallian Research Travel Grant by the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN).
Dr. Mary Catherine Fox, AFSC, will use her Lasallian Research Grant to further ongoing research on 17th-century women in the time of Saint John Baptist de La Salle.
Dr. Fox, professor emerita at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, will also explore the “precursors” to the work of De La Salle, i.e., women members of religious congregations, as well as priests sympathetic to the work the women desired to undertake. Ultimately, Dr. Fox said she envisions this project will result in an academic symposium focused upon the following topics:
- The state of 17th-century women
- The state and practice of philanthropy by widows in this time period
- The state of 17th-century women’s religious congregations
- The influence of wealthy women and widows upon the work of education in this time period
- Exploring the connections between the above and the work of Saint John Baptist de La Salle
- The condition and lives of mothers of the first students of the Christian schools
Dr. Fox will then compile this information in an annotated bibliography, conduct conversations with pivotal Lasallian scholars (Brothers and others) and visit domestic Lasallian library collections and archives.
In the following reflection, Dr. Fox spoke about what led her to pursue her research in this area:
The inspiration for my recent research focus has its genesis in conversations over the years with: Brothers Paul Grass, Michael French, William Mann, Gerard Rummery (departed), Miguel Campos (departed), George Van Grieken, and Dr. Roxanne Eubank, Heather Ruple Gilson, Maryann Donohue-Lynch, Janell Kloosterman, Sarah Laitinen and Lasallian women from across the globe with whom I have been privileged to serve, collaborate and dialogue.
In particular, my work with Heather Ruple Gilson, chair of the Commission on Association for the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, on “Lasallian Women Needs Assessment” (2022) and “CIL: Women in the Lasallian Family: Moving Forward Together as Leaven for Transformation”(2023) led me to create a presentation adding context on women in 17th-century France. While we have some initial work on women in the life of the Founder, we lack a narrative in our Lasallian family that both places women’s lives in context and reflects women’s work in the church at the time of De La Salle.
The reactions to my presentations led me to understand there was a need for – and interest in – this work, both by women and male Lasallian Partners and Brothers. Understandably, the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a male religious congregation, wrote their history with emphasis on De La Salle and the life of the Brothers. This is absolutely reasonable and culturally consistent. Now, nearly 60% of us who work in our mission are women. It is my hope that my work will add to our story from a female perspective, as well as inspire a new generation of Lasallian scholars to take even deeper dives into elements of our story.
To learn more about Lasallian Research and Travel Grants, visit our Higher Education Support page.