laywoman

María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, was an 18th-Century laywoman who is considered by some to be Argentina's first feminist.

Mama Antula was an 18th century laywoman who ministered to the poor and helped keep Jesuit spirituality alive in Argentina after the religious order — to which the pope belongs — was suppressed.

Instead, Francis held up as a model the 18th century Argentine laywoman lovingly known as Mama Antula, who ministered to the poor and helped keep Jesuit spirituality alive in Argentina after the religious order, to which the pope belongs, was suppressed.

She was elected alongside incoming president Julia Ayala Harris, a Latina laywoman from the Diocese of Oklahoma.

The decision to name the three women — two nuns and a laywoman — as members of the Congregation for Bishops will put them in position to influence the selection of the 5,300 bishops who lead dioceses and play a prominent role in the church’s interaction with the faithful all over the world.