According to biblical texts and the tradition of the Catholic Church, widows have a place of privilege and special care in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Widows have a place of privilege and special care in the Judeo-Christian tradition, according to biblical texts. On International Widows’ Day, annually observed on June 23, the Church has the opportunity to honor these women who, throughout the ages, have meaningfully supported their families and communities after the loss of their spouses.

Widows in Scripture

In St. Lukeʼs Gospel, Jesus’ encounters with widows began in his infancy, when he was presented in the Temple of Jerusalem, and continued into the years of his public ministry as a teacher and healer.

These various meetings recorded in the Gospel highlighted the strength of a widow’s faith and prayer before God, as well as Jesus’ particular compassion for her needs and well-being.

Anna, the 87-year-old widow who “worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer,” recognized the divinity of Jesus when Mary and Joseph brought him into the Temple.

According to Luke, Anna was a prophetess and one of the first women to praise Jesus as the Messiah. She “spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.”

When Jesus saw the widow of Naim mourning the death of her only son, accompanied by others, during the funeral procession, the Gospel said Our Lord was “moved with pity” when he saw her tears.

Without being asked to perform a miracle, Jesus approached the widow without hesitation, raised her only son back to life from the dead and “gave him to his mother.”

Before dying on the cross, Jesus entrusted the care of his own widowed mother, Mary, to the “disciple whom he loved.”

“He said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son,’” St. John wrote. “Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”

In the Acts of the Apostles, the evangelist Luke also sheds light on how certain ministries were formed to support widows in the early Church.

The ministry of deacons was established by the Twelve Apostles to resolve the dispute among their Hebrew and Greek disciples regarding the care of widows, as outlined in Acts 6.

St. Luke also mentions how these women supported the various spiritual and material needs of the first Christian communities.

In Acts 9, Peter promptly visited the widows of Joppa who mourned the death of their friend Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, who was “completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.”

“When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them,” the evangelist wrote.

After kneeling down and praying beside her, Peter “raised her up” and “presented her alive” to her Church community.

St. Augustine’s letter to a Roman widow

According to Augustinian Father Kolawole Chabi, the Church’s concern and reverence for widows continued over the centuries, exemplified in St. Augustine’s letter to Proba written in A.D. 412.

The Roman noblewoman’s supplication to St. Augustine led him to write an ancient treatise on Christian prayer that remains relevant today, the professor at Rome’s Patristic Institute Augustinianum told EWTN News.

“The letter to Proba spoke of continuous praying,” Chabi said in an April 27 interview. “Augustine said that inasmuch as you continue desiring God, you are praying. Your prayer stops when your desire for God stops.”

In the bishop of Hippo’s written response to the Roman noblewoman, he praised the widows mentioned in the Gospel whose ceaseless prayers were heard and heeded by God and encouraged her to continue living a pious life for the benefit of her family and community.

“[Proba] became, also, a leading figure in the Christianization of the Roman aristocracy,” Chabi told EWTN News.

Before becoming a prominent Church leader, Augustine owed his own widowed mother St. Monica for his conversion. Through her persistent prayers and example of holiness, he was baptized by St. Ambrose during the Easter Vigil in A.D. 387 at the age of 32.

St. Monica continues to be a popular Catholic patron for married women, mothers, and widows.

Widows’ ministries in the Church today

From ancient times to the present day, widows continue to have a significant apostolic role and place of care in Catholic archdioceses around the world.

Among several widows’ groups formed within the Church, the Order of Widows (Ordo Viduarum) has seen a recent revival in parts of the U.S.

Carlotta Stricker, assistant servant leader for the Widows of Prayer, spoke to EWTN News about the unique vocation and how women who have lost their husbands are keeping the faith.

“As a Widow of Prayer, we live our lives with God as our focus,” she explained. “Responsibilities include daily Mass, Eucharist, rosary, adoration, Liturgy of the Hours (morning and evening), and Divine Mercy Chaplet. All other forms of prayers and spiritual reading are encouraged.”

“In spite of our promise and vows, we are still mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers and still have an active role in our families lives,” she said.

This article was originally published by EWTN News English.