Historically, the Hebrew and Christian scriptures have been interpreted as supporting patriarchy. This dominant interpretive reading has the effect of overlooking passages that stress gender equality as well as passages that portray strong women. In other words, passages like Galatians “there are neither male nor female” or stories about women such as Ruth are overlooked.

I notice when church artwork counters the usual depictions of gender. Today, I visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Santarem. A striking structure built in a Mannerist style. Much more recent than Gothic, Mannerist style is often associated with the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. While the structure is simple in form, a rectangle, both the interior and the exterior could be ornately decorated. The exterior could show various geometric shapes rather than the numerous statues of medieval Gothic cathedrals.

Santarem’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception shows an exterior front which is five levels with some interesting detail. The interior is a large nave with statues and paintings everywhere. I didn’t expect anything unusual, the usual statues of Mary, the usual Stations of the Cross, the usual large paintings in the side chapels.

I eventually look at the ceiling. What did I see? Four scenes highlighting women from the Hebrew Scriptures! One scene focused on Deborah a Hebrew judge; one was Judith beheading Holofernes an Assyrian general; another was Jael driving a tent peg through Sisera’s temple; and the fourth was Queen Esther who helped fellow Jews survive in Persia when Haman, an advisor to the king, wanted to eliminate all Jews from Persia.

While modern Biblical scholarship has reclaimed gender equality, for a Jesuit church then Cathedral to adopt those figures on the nave’s ceiling is interesting. More than interesting, those paintings makes one wonder about the Roman Catholic Church’s positions on gender. “What if…..”