The first warmth of spring settled gently over the grounds at the Inn of Villanova, where sunlight poured through grand windows and stretched across the room already alive with something deeper than conversation.

It was the quiet hum of recognition. Of shared purpose. Of women, many meeting for the first time, drawn together not by coincidence, but by a common calling.

Nearly 150 people gathered on Thursday, March 26, 2026, for the Women in Philanthropy Award Luncheon. Many strangers at first, yet bound by their unmistakable love for the Church and a desire to serve Her well.

Voices rose and fell like a kind of gentle music – greetings of laughter, stories exchanged by people who had just met, yet spoke like they had known each other for years.

This is how community forms, and how impact begins.

Because what brought these people together was mission, not just fellowship.

Women in Philanthropy, a signature initiative of The Catholic Foundation, exists to bring together women committed to shaping the future of our Church. The initiative is rooted in three pillars: building community, celebrating service, and amplifying impact.

And on this day, that shared mission took on a visible, tangible form.

As the luncheon unfolded, the room shifted from conversation to reflection, from gathering to gratitude. At its heart stood a woman whose life had already been quietly shaping the Church in ways both seen and unseen.

When Rebecca Reilley rose to introduce this year’s Love in Action recipient, Martha Ortiz, she did not begin with accomplishments or accolades, but with the Gospel.

She recalled St. Martha, not only for her service, but for her presence, her attentiveness, her faith. And in doing so, she revealed something essential about her good friend Martha, who is not defined simply by what she has achieved, but by how she has chosen to give – by accompanying, remembering, and praying for others, helping lift them in to their own calling.

A life lived in love, with consistency, faithfulness, and without fanfare.

When Martha herself spoke, her words carried that same humility. Gratitude came first: for the community gathered, for the women beside her, and for The Catholic Foundation. But what followed was something more revealing: a reflection on transformation. Nearly a decade earlier, as her professional life came to a close, she recognized something stirring, a call not away from work, but deeper into it. A call to serve the Church more intentionally, more fully. And she said yes.

That yes would lead her into what she described simply as “God’s vineyard,” into a life now marked not by titles, but by mission.

And yet, even as she spoke of her own journey, she turned outward, toward the women in the room and the Church.

She reminded women that they are not only present in the life of the Church, but essential to it. As leaders, visionaries, builders, and faithful witnesses whose voices do not merely belong in the room but help shape its direction. Drawing from Scripture, she pointed to Deborah, Esther, Ruth, and the Blessed Mother as living examples of what it means to listen, to trust, and to act. To say yes. And then to live that yes, again and again.

It is this spirit – the quiet, courageous, collective yes – that defines Women in Philanthropy.

And when generosity is shared, it grows.

That growth was made visible in the moments that followed.

As grants were announced, the mission of the community took on real, human form.

The 2026 Women in Philanthropy Grant was awarded to Mother of Mercy House, a ministry serving vulnerable neighbors in Kensington through food, outreach, and the steady reminder that no one is forgotten.

Additional grants were awarded to Women in Philanthropy Grant finalists, Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, and Mercy Career & Technical High School. Each is a place where lives are being shaped, supported, and strengthened through faith.

The next generation was uplifted as well. The Sarah O. Hanley Scholarship for Young Philanthropists was awarded to Alina T., a student from the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur. She is already living what so many in the room had come to understand: that philanthropy is not reserved for a season of life, but is a way of living it.

Grants supporting student-led service initiatives were awarded to the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova, PA, Padua Academy in Wilmington, DE, and Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, NJ. These students are already living out their calling to give, to lead, and to serve.

Each grant awarded was made possible by the collective generosity of many.

This is the quiet mathematics of philanthropy.
More people.
Shared purpose.
More resources gathered.
More lives reached.

What begins as a room filled with conversation becomes something far greater – a network, a movement, a force for good that extends far beyond the walls in which it began.

And so, as the afternoon drew to a close, what lingered was not only the recognition of one remarkable woman, though it was richly deserved. It was something broader. Something still unfolding before them.

A sense that this community – still growing, still welcoming new voices – is only beginning to realize what it can become.

Because when women come together in faith, when they bring not only their resources but their hearts, their wisdom, their willingness to act, the impact does not remain contained.

It multiplies.

It strengthens parishes.
It sustains ministries.
It forms the next generation.

It builds the Church, not all at once, but in steady, faithful acts of love.

And like the spring light that filled the room that day, it continues to spread – quietly and generously, with a promise that what is being built together will endure.

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