Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ

Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ

From Wave of Hope by Catholic Bishops' Conference

December 16, 2025 · 2 min · Season 1 · Episode 17

About this episode

Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ reflects on finding hope in the union of her congregation and the work they do to empower women through education.

16 December This Wave of Hope short reflection for Advent comes from Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ, a sister of the Congregation of Jesus and a theologian working at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge. Sr Gemma shares how this year she found hope in the long-awaited union of the two branches of her congregation, which was founded by Venerable Mary Ward in 1609. With this hope fulfilled, Sr Gemma shared how the sisters work to give hope to others: “Our sisters have been working for centuries across the world to give women hope of a brighter future through education in its broadest sense. Everywhere, women and girls face the frustration of their potential through poverty, lack of opportunity and cultural restrictions but Jesus came to bring all of us life lived to the full.” Wave of Hope offers 25 short multimedia reflections for the season – one a day – as our contributors share a moment in 2025 that has led them to a place of hope. Subscribe You can subscribe to our Wave of Hope podcast reflections using your podcast platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon/Audible. Feed…

People in this episode

Guest: Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ

Topics covered

  • Advent
  • hope
  • education
  • women empowerment
  • Christianity
  • theology

Keywords

  • Advent
  • hope
  • Congregation of Jesus
  • education
  • women
  • theology
  • Christianity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Congregation of Jesus, Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology

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