Katrina Welles Swanson

Katrina Welles Swanson was born on January 1, 1935, into an Episcopal family with multiple ordained members across generations. Her father was a bishop who was supportive of her goal to be a priest. When she wished to pursue her vocation as a deacon, he “put her through the usual testing procedures with double intensity” to ensure her qualification. He further saw to it that her theological education and experiences fully qualified her for priesthood under the canons of the church, writing later that “never have I been more sure of a person’s vocation to the priesthood than I am of hers.”

In 1971, Swanson was ordained a deacon (by her father) and served as an assistant at St. George’s Church in Kansas City, Missouri. She was ordained a priest (again by her father) on July 29, 1974, alongside the other women of the “Philadelphia Eleven,” becoming one of the first women to be ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church. She initially served at St. Stephen’s Church in St. Louis, Missouri, where she earned a token payment of a dollar a year. In 1978, she became the rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Union City, New Jersey, where she remained until her retirement in 1995. During her time at St. John’s, she celebrated the Eucharist in English and Spanish and established an after-school program. She also served on the boards of a hospital and a homeless shelter.

After her death in 2005, a non-profit organization, Katrina’s Dream, was established by family and friends in her name to advocate for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.