The Laity’s Mission in the Church: We pray that by the virtue of baptism, the laity, especially women, may participate more in areas of responsibility in the Church.

In light of this intention from Pope Francis, I thought it appropriate to mention two of the four female Doctors of the Church, who both have feast days in October! We celebrate the Feast day of St.Therese of Liseaux on October 1st. The feast of St. Teresa of Avila is celebrated Oct. 15th. Both of these women are great Carmelite saints who wrote numerous books to help us grow in holiness!

The term “Doctor of the Church” is a special and specific title bestowed on certain Saints who are deemed to have contributed significantly to the life of the Church, through understanding of Sacred Scripture and development of official Church doctrine.

The Church began doling out this title in the 13th century. The term “doctor” stems from the Latin word docere, meaning “to teach.” Each Doctor of the Church exhibited inspiring personal holiness during their life, had a deep understanding of what it means to truly live the Christian life, and contributed to the theology
and philosophy of the Church through their writings and teachings.

There are currently 36 Doctors of the Church. While no one knows exactly how many canonized Saints there are (estimates place the number at over 10,000), the fact that there are only 36 Doctors makes them especially significant and worthy of our study and intercession!