As a young Catholic woman in 2025, I find myself constantly navigating questions — from the culture, from my peers and sometimes from my own heart — on what it truly means to be a woman and a beloved daughter of God. I wasn’t even born yet when Pope St. John Paul II penned his famous Letter to Women in 1995, but I return to it often, not because I long for another time, but because I’m searching for a truth that still speaks today.
Though I had admired Pope St. John Paul II’s teachings for years, it wasn’t until college that I encountered Letter to Women. I was a student at a large, secular school in the South, and like many young Catholics navigating campus life, I often felt caught between two worlds. In one, I was involved in campus ministry and leading a Bible study for younger women, guiding them through their faith journeys as I was also growing in mine; in the other, I was a member of a sorority and immersed in a culture where conversations about women often felt shallow and competitive.
Leading that Bible study challenged me in unexpected ways. The young women I accompanied asked some tough questions about the Faith, especially about the role of women in the Church. “Why can’t women be priests or deacons?” they asked. “Does the Church really value women?” These questions touched on something deeply personal, cutting to the heart of their identity and how they saw themselves as women and Catholics in the modern world.
At the same time, my sorority experience showed me a very different narrative, one where womanhood seemed to center on judgment and resentment toward men. It was often difficult to reconcile these conflicting messages. I wanted something deeper, something true that would honor the dignity of women without completely dismissing the complexities of modern life.
To help both my Bible study girls and myself understand and respond to these challenging questions, we dove into FOCUS’ studies on the feminine genius and the Theology of the Body — both deeply rooted in the teachings of John Paul II. As we explored these resources and read his Letter to Women alongside them, I came to see how profoundly the Church affirms the dignity, vocation and beauty of women, speaking directly to my life and to the lives of the women I was walking with.
‘Thank you, every woman!’
To understand Letter to Women, one needs to step back into the cultural landscape of the mid-1990s, a time marked by global debates around women’s rights, human dignity and the value of life. Much like today, the Church found itself in dialogue — and sometimes conflict — with a world that often defined freedom and equality in ways that clashed with the Gospel.
In 1994, at a United Nations conference on population control in Cairo, radical activists came close to enshrining abortion as a universal human right in international policy. Through diplomatic channels and the persistent advocacy of the Holy See, Pope John Paul II became an instrumental force in resisting these efforts. However, the battle was far from over. Another major U.N. conference — the Fourth World Conference on Women — was scheduled for the following year in Beijing, with many of the same ideological agendas in play.
Rather than respond with condemnation or retreat, John Paul II chose a different path. He saw a need not only to defend the Church’s position but also to offer a compelling, affirmative vision of womanhood, one that recognized the full dignity of women without reducing them to ideological symbols or political tools. In this spirit, he declared 1995 The Year of the Woman and, on June 29 of that year, released his Letter to Women.
Listing women in all stages of life, John Paul II wrote, “Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood you enrich the world’s understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic” (Letter to Women 3).
“When you’re thanked like that, you realize you’re seen and valued,” shared Dr. Lesly Temesvari, a professor of biological sciences at Clemson University. “The fact that John Paul II addresses all these categories — women who are married, single, consecrated religious and working — points out to all women, regardless of their state in life, that they are equally important.”
Having spoken on the letter at a Catholic conference for women, Temesvari echoed John Paul II’s emphasis on the complementarity between men and women: “The feminine genius is the unique set of gifts God has given women that distinguish them from men. That’s not to say men can’t be generous or nurturing — many are — but these traits come naturally to women and give them a special role within the Body of Christ.”
In my own experience, I’ve seen how much stronger we are when men and women honor each other’s gifts. The Church’s teaching on complementarity doesn’t pit us against one another; it calls us to build each other up. While in the secular culture of college life it seemed all too easy to criticize or tear men down, my involvement in campus ministry introduced me to wonderful male friends who exhibited genuine faith, respect and self-giving leadership. When women live out their nurturing strength and men respond with that kind of leadership, something beautiful happens. The Church offers a better way — one where affirming women’s dignity doesn’t come at the expense of men, but where we grow by honoring one another.
A Church that celebrates women
“I really wish more women would read this letter and discover how special they truly are. The letter highlights that in a beautiful way,” Temesvari continued. “It breaks my heart when I hear women say things like, ‘There’s no place for women in the Church.’ Oh my goodness — do they even realize how special they are?”
That sense of being “seen” and valued is woven throughout salvation history. From the earliest moments of the Gospels, we see Christ affirming the dignity of women in ways that were unheard of for his time. “It’s not just about Mary,” Temesvari said. “Think about Mary Magdalene, the first to witness the Resurrection, the one Jesus entrusted to proclaim it. She’s even called ‘the Apostle to the Apostles.'”
“Then there’s Mary and Martha,” she continued. “Jesus invited them to sit and learn, something that (for women at the time) was countercultural. Or the Samaritan woman at the well — he didn’t just speak with her; he entrusted her with the truth that he was the Messiah.”
When I think about the women who have shaped the Church, I think of saints like St. Faustina, the humble mystic whose witness to Divine Mercy changed my own faith life. Reading her diary in college stirred something deep within me — her radical trust in Jesus and quiet courage spoke to a part of my heart I hadn’t yet let God touch.
I also think of the great Doctors of the Church: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Ávila and especially St. Catherine of Siena, a laywoman who advised popes and boldly called the Church to reform. These and countless more weren’t women on the sidelines of Church history; they were at its heart, shaping it with their wisdom, courage and deep intimacy with Christ.
“If today’s women realize that no other faith tradition has produced women like these, I think it would reinforce their importance in the work of the vineyard,” Temesvari reinforced. “We all have a part to play, and just because we’re not ordained ministers doesn’t mean our work is any less important.”
Exploring the ‘feminine genius’
But for many women today — even those active in the Church — this rich legacy can feel unfamiliar or out of reach. The saints may inspire us, but what does it look like to actually live this out in ordinary life? That’s a question Terry Polakovic, co-founder of ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women), has spent years exploring. The ministry, founded in 2003, creates small-group studies to help women rediscover their God-given dignity through the lens of Church teaching and especially the writings of John Paul II.
“When we first started ENDOW,” Polakovic shared, “we didn’t even know about Letter to Women. None of our friends really knew about it either. And if you don’t know it, you’re not even enjoying who God created you to be.”
For Polakovic, Letter to Women was just the beginning. “That’s the first,” she explained. “And then you go into John Paul II’s Mulieris Dignitatem, and then Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae. When you take all three together, you really start to see the Church’s full vision for women — and it’s so rich. It’s not about limitations; it’s about knowing who you are and the unique role God created you for.”
That vision, she believes, applies to every woman — not just saints or scholars. “I think it really does apply to ordinary life,” she said. “Professionals, single and consecrated women — just any woman. You start to see how God made us for the other. It’s in our nature. And you notice it in all the small, everyday ways women care and show up with compassion.”
She gave the example of her sister, a physician assistant working in pediatric oncology. “They deal with bad news a lot. And it just so happens that my sister works with all men. But whenever there’s hard news to deliver, they always call her in. They call her the ‘softer side of oncology’ because she has this thoughtful, empathetic way with families. That’s the feminine genius in action — it’s not flashy, but it’s powerful.”
Polakovic believes John Paul II understood this quiet strength well, especially in the context of family and community. “He knew the strength of a woman. He knew she had a certain power, especially when it came to the family unit,” she said. “And in a world that keeps forcing a distorted view of womanhood in people’s faces, he offered something different — something true.”
Following Mary’s example
What struck me most in Letter to Women was how Pope St. John Paul II called for something the Church is often unfairly accused of ignoring: real justice and equality for women. He spoke clearly about the need for equal pay, respect for working mothers and fairness in every area of life. Growing up, I often faced the tired, simplistic narrative that the Church devalues women. But hearing this call for justice helped me see how the Church truly honors women — not by pushing us to the margins, but by lifting up our unique gifts and struggles.
As a young Catholic woman still navigating the complexities of this modern culture, I find comfort and strength in knowing that these teachings aren’t just abstract ideas. They’re a living call to recognize and uphold the dignity of women in every role.
In our conversation, Dr. Temesvari quoted Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: “To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.”
Women have the power to raise civilizations and confront the profound challenges before us: abortion, euthanasia and other moral revolutions on the horizon. John Paul II’s Letter to Women offers a clear, timeless perspective on this — even 30 years on. With their sensitivity and deep intuition, women are especially attuned to the ripple effects these challenges have on families and communities. And at the heart of that strength is something the world often overlooks: the profound gift women have to carry and sustain life. That ability isn’t just biological — it speaks to the spiritual and emotional strength God has entrusted uniquely to women. To dismiss that is to miss something essential about our dignity and the role we are meant to play.
Who better to inspire that vision than Mary, whose Immaculate Heart we celebrate so close to the anniversary of this letter? In Letter to Women, John Paul II calls Mary “the highest expression of the ‘feminine genius'” — a woman who “put herself at God’s service” and, through that, “put herself at the service of others: a service of love” (10). That love, he writes, became her way of reigning. Mary was humble, but never passive; courageous, but never self-serving. She lived the fullness of her vocation as a daughter, wife and mother with total trust in God and fierce devotion to others.
Her witness reminds me that living as a Catholic woman today means holding both beauty and challenge together, and doing so with grace. Whether in our families, friendships or work, women reflect something essential about God’s heart. And when we live that out with confidence and clarity, we help shape a Church and a world that more fully honors the dignity God has placed within us.
