Marie Louise Uhr (26 July 1923 – 28 July 2001) was an Australian biochemist and leader in the movement advocating for the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Early life and education

Marie Louise Uhr was born on 26 July 1923 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Her parents were Clive Wentworth Uhr and Marie Uhr. Clive and Marie Uhr had four boys and three girls. Marie was the second-born of the seven children. Her father was a radiologist, and worked at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and in private practice. He served in the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Taken prisoner in Singapore, he remained a prisoner of war until 1945. A devout Catholic, he was active in charity work. In 1960, he earned the "Father of the Year" award in Queensland. In 1961, he was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, and he was knighted in 1972. Uhr attended the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, where she earned a bachelor of applied science. Following graduation, she worked for the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in Melbourne. She completed a Master's degree at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, in the United States. She then earned her PhD at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. In 1967, she participated in a post-doctoral program at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Uhr also worked a research fellow at the Australian National University.

Career

A biochemist, Uhr lectured at the Canberra College of Advanced Education, which became the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

. She published her research in peer-reviews journals, including the ''

Journal of Biological Chemistry The ''Journal of Biological Chemistry'' (''JBC'') is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1905., jbc.org Since 1925, it is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It covers research in ...

''. She also wrote on gender bias within the field. She retired from teaching in 1994. As a feminist, Uhr believed that the Catholic Church should allow women to be ordained as priests. She participated in the

Movement for the Ordination of Women The Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) was the name used by organisations in England and Australia that campaigned for the ordination of women as deacons, priests and bishops in the Anglican Communion. England The decision in 1978 by ...

(MOW) in the Anglican Church, and was close friends with Patricia Brennan, the founder. She served as national vice-president of MOW from 1989-1991. In 1983, Uhr and Zoe Hancock co-founded an organisation called Ordination of Catholic Women Inc., to focus on this issue in Australia. Uhr was the national convener of the organisation from its inception until 2000. The group held its first national conference in 1994, and organised an international conference in 1999. Uhr decided to pursue theological studies late in life, and earned a Graduate Diploma in Theology from

St Mark's National Theological Centre St Mark's National Theological Centre is a theological college in Australia. It is owned and operated by the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. History Ernest Burgmann, Bishop of Goulburn from 1934 and then the renamed Canberra & Goulbu ...

in Canberra.

Death and legacy

On 28 July 2001, Uhr died in Canberra. In 2002, Uhr's family donated her papers to the National Library of Australia. St. Mark's National Theological Center has established an award in her honour, the Marie Louise Uhr Memorial Award for Theological Excellence.

Select publications

* Uhr, Marie Louise. "Jesus Christ, the Sophia of God: A Symbol of Our Salvation", '' Women-Church: Australian Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion'', no. 19 (1996): 15–21
Digitised version of no. 19 (1996) available on JSTOR Open Community CollectionsUniversity of Divinity Digital Collections
 

Mannix Library Mannix Library is an academic theological library located in East Melbourne, Victoria, East Melbourne, Australia. The library specialises in the areas of theology, philosophy, biblical studies and associated disciplines, and supports teaching a ...

* Uhr, Marie Louise. "Women's Ordination: Barriers and Boundaries", '' Women-Church: Australian Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion'', no. 28 (2001): 11–16
Digitised version of no. 28 (2001) available on JSTOR Open Community CollectionsUniversity of Divinity Digital Collections
 

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhr, Marie Louise 1923 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women 21st-century Australian people Australian biochemists Ordination of women and the Catholic Church University of Queensland alumni University of Colorado alumni Australian National University alumni Academic staff of the University of Canberra Australian feminists Catholic feminists

Early life and education

Career

Death and legacy

Select publications

See also

References