Professor Anna Rowlands from our Department of Theology and Religion is a leading theologian who’s helping to shape the future of the Catholic Church.
Since March 2023, Anna has been on a prestigious two-year secondment to the Vatican, contributing her expertise to the General Secretariat of the Synod, and the Dicastery (Department) for Integral Human Development of the Holy See (Vatican).
Her role includes working closely with the team managing the global Synod process established by Pope Francis. She is also working to support the core research work of the Holy See department on areas such as politics, economics, climate and migration.
Anna’s role and research is featured in our new Global Research Brochure.
Anna shaking hands with Pope Francis, thanking her for her work.
Anna’s day:
6.45am: Wake up. Do some Italian language practice. Eat (breakfast being the most important meal of my day!). Triage emails.
8.45am: Coffee (second most important event of the morning) and emails.
9am: Research reading. I have been reading mid-20th Century debates about the notion of love of God and neighbour in St Augustine for an article on Hannah Arendt’s use of Augustine in her political theory.
11am: Speak to a journalist who is amending his obituary for the Pope (these get updated periodically, usually any time the Pope is ill again!).
12 noon: PhD supervision.
1pm: Lunch with colleagues.
2pm: Zoom meeting to plan a conference event.
4pm: Emails.
7pm Zoom lecture to a group of US bishops (for whom it is early afternoon!).
More about Anna Rowlands
What do you enjoy about your role?
I enjoy the sheer variety of my job and the extraordinary diversity of contexts I have worked in. When I was younger, I toyed with the idea of journalism (because I liked writing and was fascinated by changing events), politics (because I wanted to do something that made a difference to society), or some pastoral work (to work in accompaniment and support). In effect, my academic job has enabled me to do all of these things and more. I teach, research, write, broadcast, organise and collaborate with others on major projects.
What are you most proud of?
This is honestly a really difficult question to answer! In my writing, I am most proud of winning an international prize for my first monograph. In my wider research, I am most proud of having been able to work with an extraordinary group of refugees and people seeking asylum in the Middle East and the UK. I’ve been able to collaborate with them (academics often talk about co-producing knowledge) to create better accounts of the experience of being forcibly exiled and the reality of trying to make a life under contemporary conditions of refugee-dom. In my recent work, I am most proud of having been amongst the first women to attend and play a full role in a Roman Catholic Church Synod.
Anna with all the women of the Synod from across the world - the first women to vote in a Vatican Synod in modern times.
What’s the best bit of advice you have been given and that you would give?
That life is less about the pursuit of happiness and more about the capacity to grow in love. That no-one on their death-bed wishes they had met more deadlines or worked longer hours (disclaimer: I still work stupidly long hours) or got one more promotion or had more stuff. Instead, they wished they had spent more time on the things that bring them joy, with those they love, and they regret most failing those they loved. Also, institutions do not have consciences, but people do. Don’t expect your institution to have one, do expect the people you work with to, and remember you have one too.
How do you look after your mental health?
I walk, run (when I have the time and energy!), bake, swim outdoors, pray, and spend time talking with the chaotic extended family I have! My happy places are Italy, the North East coast, and participating in a beautiful liturgy.
What is your favourite food?
Savoury food – Italian or Middle Eastern, or even better, a fusion of the two.
Sweet – in the Hebrew quarter (the old Ghetto) in Rome there is a small Jewish bakery run by the same family for many years. It has no sign above the door, but a queue is always up the street. It sells a sweet ‘pizza’ (it is nothing like a pizza!) made of nuts, ground almonds and candied fruit. It is divine.
Where has been your best holiday?
I have developed an obsession with slow European train travel. As an antidote to the endless plane travel involved in so much academic life, going on holiday by train (not UK trains!) is a delight. I have honed the route that goes from London to Paris and then a crack of dawn Italian ‘red arrow’ train from the Gare de Lyon. This one flies at high speed to Lyon and then crawls at a snail’s pace through the Alps, past vivid blue lakes and snow-capped mountains. The espresso machine is wheeled through the carriages and serves you proper coffee in your seat. Leaving at 6.30am you can be in Turin or Milan by late lunchtime. This is how I discovered the hidden delights of Turin, which has become a favourite place.
What are your hobbies?
Film-watching, baking with my family, walking with my partner, open water swimming, attempting to improve my Italian!
Do you have any pets?
Sadly, life involves too much travel to have any pets!