Agnes Gertrude Regan (March 26, 1869 – September 30, 1943) was an American

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

social reformer. Regan was a native of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Her father, born James of Carmel O'Regan, was born in Valparaiso,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, to an Irish father and an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

mother; he came to California in 1849, and mined gold prior to working for a decade as secretary to

Joseph Alemany Joseph Sadoc Alemany, Dominican Order, O.P. (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Josep Sadoc Alemany i Conill''; July 3, 1814 – April 14, 1888) was a Spanish Catholic Church in the United States, Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdioc ...

. Joseph was also associated during his career with the Hibernia Bank. Her mother, Mary Ann Morrison, belonged to a family of Irish immigrants. Agnes graduated from the San Francisco Normal School in 1887. Until 1919 she worked as an elementary educator and administrator in the public school system. In 1920 she was elected to the post of executive secretary of the National Council of Catholic Women, moving to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in the same year. In 1921 she assisted in the foundation of the Catholic Service School for Women; this would go on to become the National Catholic School for Social Service, and served as its assistant director from 1925 until her death. In this role she established a presence for Catholics in the national movement for

social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

; furthermore, she was a member of the White House Conference on Children and Democracy in 1939 and 1940. In 1933 she received the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XII ...

award from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Regan Hall, a dormitory on the campus of the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

, was named in Regan's honor. Awards Agnes received the inaugural

Siena Medal Theta Phi Alpha (), commonly known as Theta Phi, is a Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. The main archive URL iThe Baird's ...

from

Theta Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha (), commonly known as Theta Phi, is a women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 nation ...

in 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Agnes 1869 births 1943 deaths People from San Francisco Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area Activists from Washington, D.C. San Francisco State University alumni Educators from California 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators Educators from Washington, D.C. Catholics from California 19th-century American women educators 20th-century American women educators American people of Irish descent American people of English descent