Religious Workers Women

Sitting on a pew toward the front of St. Angela Merici Church in Brea, Mary Lou Mannion watches--with more than a bit of pride--as her two daughters follow the priest onto the altar during a recent 8 a.m. service. Mannion, 45, remembers her own childhood, when girls could never play such a role. Her father trained altar boys at this very parish, so she knew all the Latin prayers by heart. She knew when to ring the bell and how to genuflect.

Sitting on a pew toward the front of St. Angela Merici Church in Brea, Mary Lou Mannion watches--with more than a bit of pride--as her two daughters follow the priest onto the altar during a recent 8 a.m. service. Mannion, 45, remembers her own childhood, when girls could never play such a role. Her father trained altar boys at this very parish, so she knew all the Latin prayers by heart. She knew when to ring the bell and how to genuflect.