Alexa Suelzer (June 19, 1918 – June 26, 2015) was an American author, educator and theologian known for her

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

criticism. A

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

, she was a member of the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mother Theodore) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodo ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. One of her most cited works is her essay "Modern Old Testament Criticism" in ''

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary ''The Jerome Biblical Commentary'' is a series of books of Biblical scholarship, whose first edition was published in 1968. It is arguably the most-used volume of Catholic scriptural commentary in the United States. The book's title is a refere ...

''. In addition to her writing, she taught for twenty years at

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Originally a college exclusively for women, it is now coeducational. It is the oldest Catholic college in Indiana a ...

Early life

She was born on June 19, 1918, in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. She entered

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on February 14, 1938. Two of her natural sisters had already become sisters as well (Sister Mary Josephine and Sister David). Suelzer became a fully professed Sister on August 15, 1946.

Career

Suelzer earned a bachelor's degree in English at

and then taught high school for fourteen years. By utilizing summer sessions, she completed a master's degree in English at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in 1956. That year she was selected to study at the Regina Mundi institute in Rome. In 1958, Suelzer was sent to study for a doctorate in Sacred Doctrine at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

This was at "a time during which ... few women were encouraged to pursue study in the specialized field of scripture." New approaches to scriptural religious studies were being developed in those years that were seen by many bishops as controversial. Suelzer's advisor Father Gerald Sloyan suggested she avoid unwanted criticism by giving her visionary dissertation a more traditional, pedagogical title, "The Utilization of the Pentateuch in the Teaching of College Scripture." Suelzer completed her PhD in 1962; two years later her dissertation was published by

Herder and Herder Verlag Herder is a publishing company started by the Herders, a German family. The company focuses primarily on Catholic topics of ecclesiology, Christian mysticism, women's studies, and the development of younger Catholic theologians. History ...

as ''The Pentateuch: A Study in Salvation History.'' Suelzer's theological understanding became even more important to the Sisters of Providence after the church changes of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. She was active in the theological formation of new sisters. In 1964 she presented at the annual conference for the Conference of Major Superiors of Women (CMSW). In later years, in addition to teaching theology at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College for many years, Suelzer led retreats and spoken on the subject of prayer and scriptures. She was part of a committee to look into the case of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Sister of Mercy A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

Agnes Mary Mansour Agnes Mary Mansour (April 10, 1931 – December 17, 2004) was an American former Catholic nun, as well as a politician and public official. She is known for having been given a choice from the Vatican in 1983 to end her religious vows or to resig ...

, who controversially refused to resign her position as the state's Director of Social Services though the State provided

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

services. Suelzer also participated in the Brookland Commission, an inquiry beginning in 1988 into the place of intellectual life among communities of women religious. Suelzer continued to write and teach in her later years, teaching in the Masters of Pastoral Theology program at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College well into her eighties and contributing to Sisters of Providence publications regularly into her nineties. She died at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on June 26, 2015.

Works

* "The Utilization of the Theme of Salvation History in the Teaching of College Sacred Doctrine" (1962) * ''The Pentateuch: A Study in Salvation History'' (1964) * "Modern Old Testament Criticism." In Brown, Raymond E., ed. ''

'' (first publication 1968) * "Ecclesial relationships for religious: desires and limits" (in ''Reviews for Religious'', Jul/Aug 1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suelzer, Alexa 1918 births 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians Women Christian theologians Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Marquette University alumni Catholic University of America alumni American biblical scholars Old Testament scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars Writers from Fort Wayne, Indiana Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College alumni Women religious writers 2015 deaths 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Catholics from Indiana Female biblical scholars 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns