1800 - 1900 AD


from a perspective of women in the Church


 

Timeline

before Christ
0-100 AD
100-200
200-300
300-400
400-500
500-600
600-700
700-800
800-900
900-1000
1000-1100
1100-1200
1200-1300
1300-1400
1400-1500
1500-1600
1600-1700
1700-1800
1800-1900
1900-1950
1950-2000
2000-2050

 

The 19th century laid the foundations of present-day Europe. It saw the rise of real feminism.

In 1793 French revolutionaries had installed a naked woman as the goddess of Reason in the middle of the Notre Dame of Paris. It formed part of a series of atheistic and anti-Christian campaigns. The provocative deed sent cultural shockwaves throughout Europe. The image itself was replicated in many forms. It became the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty which the French Masons presented to New York in 1884.

Making a woman the model of reason contradicted the age-old prejudice that considered women less intelligent than men. The implication was not lost on a first-wave of feminists who called for better education for women. The symbolism spurred Friedrich Nietsche to announce the arrival of the autonomous human (Supermensch) who has to create his/her own life without God or religion.

The 19th century reformers saw in particular the Catholic Church as the greatest obstacle to reason, progress and reform. And this with some justification.

Pope Gregory XVI (1823-1846) opposed basic technological innovations in the Papal States such as gas lighting and railways, believing that they would increase the power of the bourgeoisie, leading to demands for liberal reforms. He blocked schools in rural areas.

Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) condemned the view that each person enjoys freedom of conscience and freedom of religious worship. He held that salvation is only possible through the Catholic Church. He called socialism a 'pest' and declared that 'slavery itself, considered as such in its essential nature, is not at all contrary to the law of nature or the law of God'.

On 18 July 1870 the First Vatican Council defined the infallibility of the Pope, a doctrine that has led to much misunderstanding.



 

Devotion to Mary Priest
1800 - 1900

This century saw an upsurge of spiritual dedication to Mary. Priests saw her as a model of the priesthood which they aspired to follow in their own ministries. There was a special ceremony of committing oneself to Mary's priestly care, with daily prayers of devotion. Many priests offered the sacrifice of Mass with and through her priestly mediation.

Thérèse of Lisiseux (1873-1897) took a special interest in supporting priests through her daily sacrifices and prayers. She did this in imitation of Mary, her great example. She felt personally called to the ministerial priesthood.

1800 - 1823 AD ‘Mary is the Shepherd of Souls’
1806 AD ‘Mary was a deacon’
1822 AD ‘Mary acted as a sacrificial priest’
1843 AD ‘Mary is priestess and victim’
1843 AD ‘Mary was a priest on Calvary’
1850 AD ‘Mary is priestess’
1850? AD ‘Mary was bishop and sacrificial priest’
1852 AD ‘which priest was more worthy than Mary?’
1857 AD ‘Mary’s priesthood consisted in ministry to Jesus’
1858 AD ‘Jesus shared his priestly character with Mary’
1792 - 1861 AD ‘Mary was a sacrificial priest’
1861 AD ‘Mary received the full heritage of heaven’s priesthood’
1861 AD ‘Mary shares in Jesus’ character as a priest’
1866 AD ‘Mary is a high priest anointed by the Holy Spirit’
1866 AD ‘At the foot of the cross, Mary became priestess’
1867 AD ‘Mary was priestess jointly with her son’
1807 - 1870 AD ‘Mary’s first task was that of being a priest’
1846 - 1878 AD ‘The Fathers called Mary Virgin Priest’
1875 AD ‘the priestly virgin, Mother of the clergy and Mother of priests’
1876 AD ‘Mary offered Jesus as a priest offers him at Mass’
1876 AD ‘Mary’s priestly dignity is contained in her dignity as Mother of God’
died 1876 AD ‘Mary possesses an inherent priestly character’
1884 AD ‘Mary is priest, or rather priestess’
1884 AD ‘Mary is Virgo Sacerdos’
1884 AD ‘Mary, Virgo Sacerdos, as a priest at the altar’
1884 AD ‘Mary is the high priest of redemption’
1804 - 1891 AD ‘Mary was a priest, as Jesus was’
1891 AD ‘Mary stood near the cross. What a priest, what sacrifice!’
1878 - 1903 AD welcomed image of Mary Priest

 

Women's Emancipation 1800 - 1900

The women leaders of this period not only battled against the age-old prejudices that curtailed women's lives. They also saw themselves at the forefront of liberal reform for the whole of society. They understood that the cause of progress and the cause of women were closely intertwined.

Regretfully, the Vatican was experienced as a serious opponent. The early Italian photographer Guglielmo Marconi (not to be confused with the inventor of radio) produced in 1870 a series of photographs in the context of the war against the Papal States. The woman depicts young Italy but also progressive forces in general who are in 'agony' about the conservatism of the Vatican. Notice St. Peter's and Castel San Angelo in the background.
1750-1848
Astronomer. Discovered several comets.

***
1775-1817
Novelist

***
1774-1821
Founder of Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph

*****
1780-1845
English prison reformer, social reformer and a Christian philanthropist

*****
1787-1870
Founded the first women's school of higher education in USA

****
1778-1841
Founder of the Sisters of Mercy

*****
1780-1872
Scottish science writer and polymath. With Caroline Herschel became first women members of the Royal Astronomical Society

****
1829
Banned by British colonial law

***
1806 –1831
National Hero of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

**
1761 - 1850
Established her wax museum: a major tourist attraction

***
1837
The longest serving and most commemorated British monarch in history

*****
1838
Major mountaineering feat.

**
1808-1877
Improved conditions for immigrants to Australia. A saint in the Church of England calendar.

*****
1797 – 1883
African-American, born a slave, who worked to abolish slavery.

***
1805 - 1881
Well known for her medical skills in the Caribbean. She served also in the Crimea.

****
1818 – 1889
First woman member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She later took up a chair in astronomy.

*****
1815 – 1902
Founder with Susan B. Anthony of the National Woman Suffrage Association in USA. Published The Woman's Bible in 1895

*****
1821 – 1910
First Female Doctor in USA

*****
1822 – 1913
Escaped from slavery. Worked to liberate others and argued for women's suffrage.

****
1856
This should have been liberating for widows but was not often taken up.

**
1857
Widening the availability of divorce beyond the privileged few.

****
1835 - 1908
From 1856 onwards she dominated the governance of China.

*****
1836 - 1865
Most famous cookery writer in British history

**
1866
Amendment defeated by 196 votes to 73.

****
1831-1903
First Woman Doctor in Canada - she had to train in USA.

*****
1841 –1895
Prominent French Impressionist painter

***
1838 – 1927
American suffragist - in 1872 first woman to stand for the United States Presidency.

****
1870 & 1882
Women to legally be the rightful owners of the money they earned and to inherit property

*****
1875
Emma Paterson and Edith Simcox both attended.

****
1893
First country in the world to grant women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

*****
The star rating indicates the importance
for the advance of women