Being a female entrepreneur can feel lonely. While male entrepreneurs often receive praise for taking risks and building a business, many still have conservative views about female entrepreneurs. However, we can’t let the naysayers get us down. We can look to history to see impressive female figures doing great work in multiple fields. Some are even celebrated as saints in the historic Catholic church. The following three female Catholic saints everyone should know are certainly worthy of celebration and can inspire us to continue to work hard.
St. Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc grew up a poor Christian in the French countryside. She received visions from saints declaring that she was to free other areas of France from English rule. Family members helped her gain an audience with the king, who confirmed the authenticity of her faith and trusted her visions. Although women were not permitted to be soldiers, she carried the French banner into battle to inspire the troops. They saw many victories under her banner, but she was eventually captured and sold to the English. The English executed her as a witch, but she is not a canonized saint. Any woman working in a male-dominated industry can look to her for inspiration.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla
Like Joan, Gianna was also born a peasant and worked hard in a male-dominated field. She studied medicine and surgery at the University of Pavia in Italy, specializing in pediatrics at the University of Milan in 1952. After graduating she married and had children, balancing motherhood with her medical work. Although she died after a cesarian section, she was canonized in 2004, and her family was able to attend. Any woman who is told she cannot balance motherhood and work can look to St. Gianna Beretta Molla for inspiration.
St. Hildegard of Bingen
Born a noblewoman, Hildegard entered consecrated life as a nun at the age of 18. Life as a nun enabled her to study many disciplines and she was able to contribute writings on and work in pharmaceuticals, music, poetry, art, and more. Many wrote to her for advice, including those in consecrated life with her who eventually became saints. She frequently saw visions from God, which she also wrote down, contributing to theology alongside the other fields mentioned above. She has been canonized as a saint and a doctor of the church. Any woman trying to find her place in multiple fields can look to her for inspiration.
These three female Catholic saints are women everyone should know, even if they are not Catholic. While many differences between Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism exist, we can all learn from powerful women who changed the world for the better.