Georgetown’s spiritual community has officially welcomed a new set of faces this semester. Catholic Daughters of the Americas, a national organization, now has its own Georgetown campus-based court.

Led by Regent Meghan Mullen (COL ’05) and vice regent Caitlin Fogarty (COL ’06) and mentored by spiritual advisor Anne-Elizabeth Giuliani, the Daughters say they are ready to carve a niche for themselves in the coming months.

Founded in 1903, CDA is the largest national organization of Catholic women in the country. A group of Georgetown women established the nation’s very first CDA campus-based court in 1996 under the direction and guidance of Giuliani, currently a chaplain-in-residence for Alumni Square. The group was active for several years, according to Giuliani, but it gradually lost its base of interest.

Last winter, several students approached Giuliani wanting to revive the university’s CDA chapter. Although enthusiastic, she said she was at first cautious about assisting them. Giuliani, Georgetown’s Campus Ministry as well as the CDA, wanted to make sure the women were serious.

“We wanted them to do it for the right reasons – no one wanted to have one more clique on campus,” she said.

Discussions, prayers and service projects with the women ultimately convinced Giuliani that they were committed and open to a group with wide membership.

“These young women passed the test,” Giuliani said, accepting her role as their spiritual advisor. “They had been touched by the good news of the Gospel.”

Last spring and this fall, the core group of Daughters tabled in Dahlgren Quad following Sunday mass and in Red Square, amassing a long list of interested women.

Giuliani said that the group welcomes all women prepared to deepen their faith through prayer and service – even those who are struggling with aspects of this faith.

“We welcome questioning young women,” Giuliani said. “In fact, all our young women should be inquisitive, curious, searching in their relationship with this complex, rich, living tradition. Likewise they are invited to let themselves be questioned by this tradition.”

Catholic Daughters embrace a collaborative mentality when it comes to setting goals, determining together what they want to pursue this semester. Possibilities include Habitat for Humanity and projects geared towards helping youth. Both Giuliani and Mullen stressed the value of concentrating on a few specific projects.

Although they may seem similar, the Daughters are not the female counterpart of the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization for Catholic men, and are not affiliated with the group in any way.

Mullen said she expects that the Daughters will be “on equal footing” with the Georgetown Knights and thus called upon by Campus Ministry to participate in the same events.

Giuliani emphasized that although the histories of the Daughters and the Knights “intertwine,” and the two groups have similar objectives like community service and the cultivation of a deep Catholic spirituality, the associations run independently.

The tight organization of Catholic men through the Knights may have initially inspired women to come together in a similar fashion, but the Daughters view faith “from a much more feminine perspective,” Giuliani said. She added that it is important for women to have time to be together as women and discuss issues pertinent to them.

One of the issues that the Daughters will inevitably face this semester is politics. As a national organization, CDA does not endorse any particular party, highlighting unity over division. The Georgetown CDA has Republican, Democratic and Independent members, and while diversity of opinion is always appreciated, some anxiety exists over how these differences may affect the group dynamic.

“We should be able to have discussions about issues without bringing in politics,” Mullen said, though she admitted that the approaching election “is very in your face right now.”

She said she hopes to keep the conversations respectful and focused on the Daughters’ core values without explicitly barring anyone from expressing her opinions.

Mullen said that communication among the Daughters should always remain open and that they “are not trying to quiet anyone.”

Too much politics, however, could interfere with the greater purpose of the organization.

Giuliani sees herself as a potential moderator for the Daughters. She said that even though some of the women may be passionate about their opposing views, “they are all aware that . `the’ answer to the world’s problems does not lie in a political party, even less a candidate.”