Núria Calduch

{{Short description|Spanish biblical scholar and Roman Curia official}}

{{family name hatnote|Calduch|Benages|lang=Catalan}}

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| name = Núria Calduch i Benages

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| religion = Catholic

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| known_for = Doctor in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute
Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University

| education = Autonomous University of Barcelona

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| nationality = Spanish

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|03|26}}

| birth_place = Barcelona, Spain

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| previous_post = Member of the Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate

| present_post = Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission

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Núria Calduch i Benages (also Calduch-Benages, born 26 March 1957){{cite web |url=https://www.ppc-editorial.com/autores/nuria-calduch-benages |title=Biografía |website=ppc-editorial.com |language=Spanish }} is a Spanish nun, biblical scholar and Roman Curia official. She is a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and specialises in the wisdom books of the Old Testament. Calduch i Benages is the first woman to be Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Education

Calduch i Benages graduated in Philosophy and Literature from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1979 and earned a doctorate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.{{Cite web|url=https://www.catalunyareligio.cat/ca/no-amagueu-dones|website={{ill|Catalunya Religió|ca}}|title=No amagueu les dones|date=7 November 2016}} She is a member in the congregation of Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.{{Cite web |last=Donnini |first=Debora |date=16 March 2021 |title=First woman appointed Secretary of Vatican Biblical Commission |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-03/first-woman-appointed-secretary-of-vatican-biblical-commission.html |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=Vatican News}}

Career

Calduch i Benages is a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University since 2010 and a guest professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. She is considered an authority in the study of the wisdom books of the Old Testament.{{Cite web|url=https://www.catalunyareligio.cat/ca/articles/63336|website=Catalunya Religió|title=El Papa nomena Núria Calduch membre de la Pontifícia Comissió Bíblica|date=9 March 2021}}

Benedict XVI appointed Calduch i Benages as an expert of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God celebrated in 2008,{{Cite journal|url=https://es.zenit.org/2008/09/09/el-proximo-sinodo-contara-con-la-mayor-participacion-femenina/|journal=Zenit|title=El próximo sínodo contará con la mayor participación femenina|date=9 September 2008|language=es}} and Pope Francis appointed her as a member of the Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate in 2016.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-institutes-commission-study-female-deacons-appointing-gender-balanced|journal=National Catholic Reporter|title=Francis institutes commission to study female deacons, appointing gender-balanced membership|date=2 August 2016|last=McElwee|first=Joshua J.}}{{Cite journal|url=https://www.eldiadevalladolid.com/noticia/zc4c3f74f-a501-3677-d46ed336d68d9a30/201701/nuria-calduch-pronunciara-el-sermon|journal={{ill|El Día de Valladolid|es}}|title=Nuria Calduch pronunciará el Sermón|date=17 January 2017|language=es}} The committee had the role of investigating the role of women deacons in the early Church. The committee’s report was not published, and a second Commission was established in 2020, with a new membership.{{Cite news |last=McElwee |first=Joshua J. |date=8 April 2020 |title=Francis creates new women deacons commission, naming entirely different membership |url=https://www.ncronline.org/spirituality/francis-creates-new-women-deacons-commission-naming-entirely-different-membership |access-date=1 April 2025 |work=National Catholic Reporter}}

On 9 March 2021, Pope Francis chose Calduch i Benages to be the Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, making her the first woman to reach this office.{{cite press release | access-date = 9 March 2021| publisher = Holy See Press Office | date=9 March 2021|url =https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/03/09/0144/00306.html|title = Rinunce e nomine, 09.03.2021}}{{Cite journal|url=https://www.cope.es/religion/hoy-en-dia/vaticano/papa-francisco/noticias/papa-nombra-nuria-calduch-secretaria-pontificia-comision-biblica-20210309_1179573|journal=Cadena COPE|title=El Papa nombra a Nuria Calduch, Secretaria de la Pontificia Comisión Bíblica|date=9 March 2021|language=es}} She was reappointed for a second term, ending in 2025.{{Cite web |date=17 March 2021 |title=Women theologians appointed to senior roles in Rome and Maynooth |url=https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/41779 |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=Independent Catholic News}} A festschrift was published in 2022 in her honour on the occasion of her 65th birthday, edited by Francis M. Macatangay and Francisco-Javier Ruiz-Ortiz.{{cite book | url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110762181/pdf | doi=10.1515/9783110762181 | title=Ben Sira in Conversation with Traditions | date=2022 | isbn=9783110762181 | s2cid=251878961 | editor-last1=MacAtangay | editor-last2=Ruiz-Ortiz | editor-first1=Francis M. | editor-first2=Francisco-Javier }}

References