Phyllis Zagano (born August 25, 1947) Archived 23 June 2015. is an American author and academic. She has written and spoken on the role of women in the Roman

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and is an advocate for the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s. Her writings have been variously translated into Indonesian, Czech, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Early life and education

Zagano was born in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

in 1947. She graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1965. She has a BA from Marymount College in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, Unit ...

(1969);

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s in communications from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

(1970), in literature from

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

(1972), and in theology from St. John's University (1991); and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in 1979.

Career

Zagano was program officer at the

National Humanities Center The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any uni ...

from 1979 to 1980, and taught at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

from 1980 to 1984. She was a researcher at the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the count ...

from 1984 to 1986 and a Coolidge Fellow at the

Episcopal Divinity School The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is an unaccredited theological school in New York City. Established to train people for ordination in the American Episcopal Church, the seminary eventually began training students from other denominations. T ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

in 1987. She taught at Boston University from 1988 to 1999. Since 2002, Zagano has taught at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

, where she is senior research associate-in-residence and

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

of religion. In 2005 she held a visiting professorship at the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. In 2009, she was a

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

at the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (''Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál''), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, Ireland, where she was a lecturer. In 2015 she was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engi ...

, in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, Ireland. Zagano's scholarship and work as a theologian has been recognized by both awards and critical engagement. She received "Layperson of the Year" award from

Voice of the Faithful Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is a movement of practicing Catholics, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2002 in the wake of allegations regarding child abuse by Catholic clergy, perceived mishandling of cases of known or suspected abuse, and pasto ...

in 2012. She received the Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice from the Paulist Center of Boston in 2014. Two years later, in 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Zagano to the Papal

Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate Pope Francis created two Study Commissions on the Women's Diaconate, the first in August 2016 to review the theology of women deacons and their nature in the first centuries of the Catholic Church, and a second in April 2020 following discussion ...

. Prior to disputing with her ideas, ''Crisis Magazine'' described Zagano as "one of the most high-ranking feminists in the Catholic Church" in 2019. Zagano's career also includes over 30 years as public affairs office in the U.S. Navy Reserve. She retired from the Navy Reserve at the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. Beginning in 2008, she has regularly donated her papers to the Women and Leadership Archives of

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

Publications

Zagano's publications include: *''Woman to Woman: An Anthology of Women's Spiritualities'', 1993, editor. . *''On Prayer: A Letter to My Godson'', 1994. . *''Ita Ford: Missionary Martyr'', 1996. . *''The Exercise of the Primacy: Continuing the Dialogue'', 1998, co-editor. . *''Things New and Old: Essays on the Theology of Elizabeth A. Johnson'', 1999, co-editor. *''Twentieth-Century Apostles: Christian Spirituality in Action'', 1999. *''Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church'', 2000;

Catholic Press Association The Catholic Media Association, formerly the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, is an association of American and Canadian newspaper and media specialists specialized on reporting on the Catholic Church. Founded in 1911, it ...

Book Award; 2002 College Theology Society Book Award. *''Dorothy Day'', 2003, editor. *''Called to Serve: A Spirituality for Deacons'', 2004. *''The Dominican Tradition: Spirituality in History'', 2006, co-editor. *''Women & Catholicism: Gender, Communion, and Authority'', 2011;

Book Award in category B15, "Gender issues". *''Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future'', 2011, with Gary Macy and William T. Ditewig. *''Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions about the Diaconate'', 2012. *''Mysticism and the Spiritual Quest: A Crosscultural Anthology'', 2013. *''Ordination of Women to the Diaconate in the Eastern Churches: Essays by Cipriano Vagaggini'', 2013, editor and translator. *''Sacred Silence: Daily Meditations for Lent'', 2014, 2024. *''In the Image of Christ: Essays on Being Catholic and Female'', 2015. *''Women Deacons? Essays with Answers'', 2016, editor and translator.

Book Award in category B15, "Gender issues". *''The Light of the World: Daily Meditations for Advent'', 2016. *''Women: Icons of Christ'', 2020, Catholic Media Association Book Award for 2021 in Gender Issues-Inclusion in the Church category *''Elizabeth Visits the Abbey", 2022 *Just Church: Catholic Social Teaching, Synodality, and Women, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagano, Phyllis 1947 births Boston University College of Communication alumni Ordination of women and the Catholic Church Hofstra University faculty Living people Long Island University alumni Marymount College, Tarrytown alumni People from Queens, New York St. John's University (New York City) alumni Stony Brook University alumni People associated with Waterford Institute of Technology