Mary Milligan

Mary Milligan (January 23, 1935 – April 2, 2011) was an American theologian, a university administrator, and a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) who served as the tenth general superior of the Institute of the RSHM (1980–1985). She was the first general superior of that religious order who was born in the United States. In 1987, she was appointed by the Vatican as special secretary to the International Synod of Bishops on the Laity as one of three U.S. experts. She served Loyola Marymount University as a professor, as provost, and subsequently as Dean of Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. Fellow parishioners or classmates who would also enter religious life and play significant roles in Milligan's life include Cardinal Roger Mahoney, and Fr. Thomas Rausch, S.J.

Leadership within the RSHM Sr. Mary Milligan was elected general councilor and served in that role from 1969 to 1975. That understanding of the order's history allowed Milligan to take a primary role in drafting the revision of the Institute's constitutions, which was approved by the general chapter of the Institute in August 1980 and then by the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. Her dissertation, That They May Have Life: A Study of the Spirit-charism of Father Jean Gailhac traced the history of the order from its founding in Beziers, France in 1849 up through the establishing of American provinces in the early twentieth century. This necessitated her return to Rome. In 1983, she began a dialogue with Pope John Paul II and the International Union of Superiors General concerning the role of women in the local Church and the relationship between women in religious life and bishops. She served as the dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts of Loyola Marymount University from 1992 to 97.

Leadership within the larger Church Sr. Mary Milligan was appointed by the Vatican in 1987 as special secretary to the International Synod of Bishops on the Laity on "The Vocation and Mission of the Laity in the Church Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council."

Honors In 1988, Milligan was awarded an honorary doctorate from Marymount University in Arlington, VA.

Mary Milligan, R.S.H.M. Lecture in Spirituality In 2013, Loyola Marymount University's Department of Theological Studies established the Mary Milligan, R.S.H.M. Lecture in Spirituality. The lecture is given annually, and provides a forum for critical reflection on spirituality in service to the Church, the academy and the world, in keeping with the RSHM charism “that all may have life and have it to the full.”

Selected works

Sheila Kaye-Smith, 1887–1956 (thesis/dissertation, L’Université de Paris, 1959). That They May Have Life: a Study of the Spirit-Charism of Father Jean Gailhac, Founder (Gregorian University Press, Roma, 1975). "Inculturation, Feminism, and the Dialogue with Rome" in Women in the Church I edited by Madonna Kolbenschlag, (Washington, D.C: The Pastoral Press, 1987) A Journey in Faith and Time: History of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary 4 vols. with Rosa do Carmo Sampaio, RSHM and Kathleen Connell, RSHM, (Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, 1992). "The Development of Religious Life in the United States from its European Roots" in The American Catholic Heritage : Reflections on the Growth and Influence of the Catholic Church in the United States (Rome Italy : Pontifical North American College, 1992). "Christian Spirituality" in College Student's Introduction to Theology edited by Thomas P. Rausch, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993). Women and Jurisdiction: An Unfolding Reality with Anne Munley, IHM; Rosemary Smith, SC; Helen Maher Garvey, BVM; and Lois MacGillivray, SNJM(Leadership Conference of Women Religious Study of Selected Church Leadership Roles, 2001). "Tell Us Mary, What Have You Seen Along the Way": A Memoir (Montebello, CA: Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, 2009).