Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena were honored with this title together in 1970.
St. Teresa of Avila and St. Catherine of Siena were named the first female Doctors of the Church on September 27, 1970, by St. Paul VI. There are now 38 Doctors of the Church -- with St. John Henry Newman to officially be named on November 1 -- including four women.
The other two women Doctors of the Church are St. Thérèse of Lisieux (named such by John Paul II in 1997 -- the only Doctor of the Church he named) and St. Hildegard of Bingen (named so by Benedict XVI in 2015).
