Education of the young has been a major ministry for Catholic women in religious institutes and the Catholic Church produced many of the world's first women professors.

Among the notable historical Catholic women teachers have been Trotula of Salerno the 11th-century physician, Dorotea Bucca who held a chair of medicine and philosophy at the University of Bologna from 1390, Elena Piscopia who, in 1678, became the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy, and Maria Agnesi, who was appointed around 1750 by Pope Benedict XIV as the first woman professor of mathematics.

The Englishwoman Mary Ward founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters) in 1609, which has established schools throughout the world.
Irishwoman Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin in 1831, at a time where access to education had been the preserve of Ireland's Protestant Ascendency.
Her congregation went on to found schools and hospitals across the globe.

In 1872, the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco (also called Daughters of Mary Help of Christians) was founded in Italy by Maria Domenica Mazzarello.
The teaching order was to become the modern world's largest institute for women, with around 14,000 members in 2012.

In the United States, Saint Katharine Drexel inherited a fortune and established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People(now known as the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament), which founded schools across America and started Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 1925 for the education of African Americans.
Education of the young has been a major ministry for Catholic women in religious institutes and the Catholic Church produced many of the world's first women professors.
Among the notable historical Catholic women teachers have been Trotula of Salerno the 11th-century physician, Dorotea Bucca who held a chair of medicine and philosophy at the University of Bologna from 1390, Elena Piscopia who, in 1678, became the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy, and Maria Agnesi, who was appointed around 1750 by Pope Benedict XIV as the first woman professor of mathematics.
The Englishwoman Mary Ward founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters) in 1609, which has established schools throughout the world. Irishwoman Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin in 1831, at a time where access to education had been the preserve of Ireland's Protestant Ascendency. Her congregation went on to found schools and hospitals across the globe.
In 1872, the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco (also called Daughters of Mary Help of Christians) was founded in Italy by Maria Domenica Mazzarello. The teaching order was to become the modern world's largest institute for women, with around 14,000 members in 2012.
In the United States, Saint Katharine Drexel inherited a fortune and established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People(now known as the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament), which founded schools across America and started Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 1925 for the education of African Americans.
Women in the Catholic Church