Allow me to clarify what I meant about gender categories. Virgin might
apply to me or women, but female saints more often are classified by
"marital status". The nearest copy of the Roman Missal consistently
translates all pronouns in the feminine, even where the Latin is more
generic; and most of the quotations from the Bible concern women. Then
there is a common for a Holy Woman Martyr not a Virgin, and one for a
woman who is neither. Thus the categories in my message are supported if
not in the exact wording (since a male can be a virgin) at least in
larger outlines by the liturgy itself.
Thomas M. Izbicki
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