Women ‘make things happen’ at St. Anthony Shrine

St. Anthony Shrine may be known for its browncloaked friars, but many women are among the driving forces behind the success of the cherished Arch Street chapel.

Most of the shrine’s 25 friars are older, averaging close to age 70, and the younger ones are in school full time, said the Rev. Thomas Conway, the shrine’s executive director. So the friars often look to the staff to “make things happen,” he said, and the key staffers are largely women.

“In terms of getting things done, I’m frequently turning to the women,” Conway told me. “Maybe that isn’t all that different than how a lot of families work.”

Julie Ogden is the shrine’s managing director. Conway calls her Corporal O’Reilly, a reference to a character in the TV series “M.A.S.H.”

“She just knows what I’m going to ask her to do next,” Conway said.

Mary Ann Ponti runs the shrine’s outreach programs.

“She’s very aware of the neighborhood and the homeless in the neighborhood,” Conway said. “She knows people by name. She knows what their backgrounds are.”

Maryanne Rooney-Hegan is director of development and is “exceptionally good” at getting people interested in helping the shrine, Conway said. Ariana Green, manager of donor services, has incredible energy and is loved by donors.

“These folks just play really key roles in how all of this works,” said Conway.

In the larger Catholic Church today, Conway said “there’s certainly some issue of it feels like the men control everything, the men have all the important positions.”

Conway added with a laugh: “I’m not sure that the friars here are having exactly that experience.”