Women's Ordination Conference

06/05/2026

PERSISTENCE can take many forms, all necessary and valuable in a long-haul movement. Sometimes it looks like holding hands with a friend, or anointing one another. Sometimes it looks like rolling up your sleeves and strategizing pathways for change. Sometimes it looks like learning from one other, honoring the past and preparing for the future. SO many moments and faces and witnesses of persistence at .

06/04/2026

DETROIT! We returned to *where it all began* with reverence, gratitude, and intentionality for the holy ground that is Detroit.

We gathered at the former IHM school, now Marygrove Conservancy, collaborated Detroit artists, DJs, and musicians, celebrated local flavors and artistry through our catering and floral arrangements, engaged local supporters as volunteers, panelists, and speakers, worked with local businesses, and did extensive community outreach to spread the WOC word. We aimed to not just give back to Detroit but learn from its legacy of social justice, community-driven activism, and joyful resilience.

Simply said, WOC50 would not have been as fun, spirited, delicious, or meaningful without the greater Detroit community. 💜

06/03/2026

PRAYER: Our weekend was marked by a sense of prayer that pervaded not just the times of ritual and liturgy, but the ordinary interactions between those gathered each day. We sought to express our beliefs in expansive, inclusive language and ritual, offering our prayers to the God who is beautifully beyond what our images and words can express. It was truly a Pentecost weekend of "many tongues!"

06/01/2026

May it be an empowered, blessed, joy-filled for all. 🏳️‍🌈

05/29/2026

CONNECTION! So many moments of deep solidarity, emerging friendship, and Facebook friends come to life at ! Here is another installment of photos that are but a glimpse of the connection to one another and to the expansive divine that many experienced in Detroit.

05/28/2026

JOY: One of the themes that came up over and over again was the joy of the conference weekend. Reuniting with old friends; making new ones; dancing the night (and the liturgies!) away. There are many, many wonderful photos to share from and we will release them over the next week or so - but for now, a little taste of our joy!

05/28/2026

"The movement has always been about more than ordination — it's about the full humanity and dignity of women in the church and in the world." - Dr. Teresa Delgado at ✨💜

At the 50th anniversary celebration of the Women's Ordination Conference, attendees dared to celebrate the Catholic Church's commitment to synodality and the bit of hope it brings them that women could someday be ordained priests.

05/28/2026

"Pentecost joy was palpable, hard to contain, and arrived unexpectedly to fill my own heart as well as those of my siblings in the struggle." Thanks to Sr. Christine Schenk for this report on for National Catholic Reporter

The brainchild of WOC Executive Director Kate McElwee, the "Not if, But How — Reforming Institutions" panel gathered two sociologists and a political scientist to explore concrete strategies for changing institutions.