Catholics are accustomed to thinking of the term apostle as referring exclusively to men: the Twelve who followed Jesus and were with him at the Last Supper, as well as the Apostle Paul. But the church also considers Mary Magdalene an apostle—the "apostle to the apostles," to be precise. So clearly, being an apostle isn't something only men can do.

If women can be apostles, this opens a fascinating question: What about Mary, Jesus' mother? Mary of Nazareth might not have preached Jesus' teachings to crowds, or spread the news of his resurrection, but we see her proclaiming the glory of the Lord in the Magnificat, guiding Jesus to perform his first miracle, and sticking with him by the cross. We know she was an important part of the early church. Aside from that, she birthed Jesus, body and blood, into the world.

In this third and final installment of Glad You Asked's three-part season finale on Mary, the hosts talk with theologian Natalia Imperatori-Lee about whether Mary the Mother of Jesus was an apostle.

Imperatori-Lee's scholarship focuses on ecclesiology, feminist theologies, and Latino/a theologies. She has written in both academic and popular publications, on topics ranging from the church's mistreatment of women scholars, to the perils of complementarity, to Mariology. Her most recent book, Women and the Church: From Devil's Gateway to Discipleship (Paulist Press), is an overview of feminist theology, for the undergraduate classroom.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Imperatori-Lee's work, in these links.

Women and the Church: From Devil's Gateway to Discipleship, by Natalia Imperatori-Lee

Bearers of an "Idle Tale": Women's Authority in a Creditability Economy, by Natalia Imperatori-Lee

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary," by Elizabeth Johnson

"Mary Magdalene knew she was an apostle. Why don't we?" by Alice Camille

"Two historians track down Jesus' women disciples," a U.S. Catholic interview

"Finding leadership roles for women in the church," by Bryan Cones

The Beginnings of the Church, by F. J. Cwiekowski

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

Mary's "Magnificat" is pretty revolutionary. It isn't praising God for abstract blessings, but for real material events, all of which have to do with radical social justice. And this makes sense, given the world Mary lived in. She was a young Jewish woman, likely from a poor family, in a nation that was occupied by the Roman Empire. Since she was not a citizen, she lacked various protections and rights. Her son Jesus would eventually be executed by that Empire, on suspicion of revolution—and his execution would be in the brutal form of crucifixion, since he didn't enjoy the protection of citizenship.

We know there were revolutionary groups in first-century Roman-occupied Palestine. And we know Jesus was executed because the imperial regime viewed him as a revolutionary. What would Mary have thought about those groups? Does her Magnificat indicate that she favored them? Can we call Mary a revolutionary?

On this episode of Glad You Asked, the second in a three-part season finale looking at Mary as a figure of liberation, the hosts talk with theologian Kat Armas about Marian devotion in relation to movements of revolution and reform.

Armas has a dual Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, where she was awarded the Frederick Buechner Award for Excellence in Writing. She is the author of Liturgies for Resisting Empire:

Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World (Brazos Press, and Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength (Brazos Press), as well as numerous articles, including in the National Catholic Reporter, Plough Magazine, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, and Sojornours.

Learn more about this topic, and read some of Armas' work, in these links:

Liturgies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World, by Kat Armas

Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength, by Kat Armas

"In Scripture and Trump's America, some people mistakenly want a king," by Kat Armas

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary," by Elizabeth Johnson

"How Liberation Theology Illuminates Advent in the Bible," a U.S. Catholic interview

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

"Divine revelation leads to revolution," by Alice Camille

"Look to Mary as a model of authentic womanhood." That's the message church leaders have directed at generations of Catholic women and girls. Often, latent in this message, is the notion that authentic womanhood means being docile, obedient, submissive, and innocent. So it's no wonder that many people, both inside and outside the church, view feminism and Catholicism as incompatible. There are many different types of feminism but none are known for preaching docility.

Nevertheless, Catholic feminists exist. They are scholars, religious sisters, activists, community leaders, workers, and mothers. They make significant contributions to theology, too. Are these women failing to emulate Mary sufficiently? Or, alternatively, are they following Mary's example? What if Mary herself was a feminist?

This episode of Glad You Asked is part of a three-part season finale looking at Mary as a figure of liberation. This segment of the series focuses on Mary from the perspective of feminist thought, considering whether the historical Mary was a champion of women's liberation, whether feminists can look to her for inspiration, and whether Marian devotion is compatible with feminist thought.

To discuss Mary as a figure of women's liberation, the hosts talked with theologian Julie Hanlon Rubio. Rubio is the Shea-Heusaman Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Associate Dean at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. She is the author or editor of seven books, most recently Can You Be a Catholic and a Feminist (Oxford University Press). She has published in a variety of academic journals as well as popular venues, and serves on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Review Board.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Rubio's work, in these links.

Can You Be a Catholic and a Feminist? by Julie Hanlon Rubio

"Why did God choose Mary?" by LaRyssa Herrington

"Could Mary have said 'No'?" by Kevin Considine

"Why was Mary a virgin?" by Alice Camille

"Don't make Mary the feminine face of God," by Elizabeth Johnson

"Catholic and feminist: You got a problem with that?" by Megan Sweas

"Real biblical womanhood: the defiant women of Hebrew scripture," by Rebecca Bratten Weiss

"Was Jesus a feminist?" by Bernadette Raspante

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.