Sister Alexa Suelzer, S.P., (born June 19, 1918), is an author, educator and theologian known for her Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 criticism. A Roman Catholic Religious Sisters

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

, she is a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. One of her most cited works is her essay "Modern Old Testament Criticism" in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. In addition to her writing, she taught for twenty years at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is a Roman Catholic, four-year liberal arts women's college located northwest of Terre Haute, Indiana, between the Wabash River and the Illinois state line. There is also a small village of the same name located nearby...

.

She was born on June 19, 1918, in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...

. She entered the religious life on February 14, 1938, and became a fully professed Sister on August 15, 1946. She earned a bachelor's degree in English at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is a Roman Catholic, four-year liberal arts women's college located northwest of Terre Haute, Indiana, between the Wabash River and the Illinois state line. There is also a small village of the same name located nearby...

, a master's degree in English at Marquette University

Marquette University

Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...

, and a doctorate in Sacred Doctrine at The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

Suelzer was part of a committee to look into the case of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 Sister of Mercy Agnes Mary Mansour

Agnes Mary Mansour

Agnes Mary Mansour was a Catholic nun from 1953 until 1983, when she was forced to resign her vows to retain her position as the director of the Michigan Department of Social Services. Mansour continued as director until 1987. She served as the president of Mercy College of Detroit from 1971 to 1983...

, who controversially refused to resign her position as the state's Director of Social Services though the State provided abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 services. Suelzer also participated in the Brookland Commission, an inquiry beginning in 1988 into the place of intellectual life among communities of women religious.

Works

• The Pentateuch: A Study in Salvation History (1964)
• "Modern Old Testament Criticism." In Brown, Raymond E., ed. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (first publication 1968)
• "Ecclesial relationships for religious: desires and limits" (in Reviews for Religious, Jul/Aug 1984)