Romanian Women in History

Romanian Women in History: Anița Nandriș-Cudla, the Bukovinian peasant who chronicled her Gulag ordeal

Around age 70, in the quiet of her home in Mahala, Chernivtsi region, a Bukovinian peasant woman who had completed only three years of primary school began writing her memoirs under the title Memories from My Life. The manuscript, written neatly and without corrections – almost as though it had been dictated – was entrusted…

Aug 20, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian women in history: Presbytera Elena Alistar, physician, educator and champion of Bessarabia’s Union with Romania

Elena Alistar, the first of seven children born to Fr Vasile Balan and Presbytera Elizaveta Balan in the village of Vaisal, Ismail County, was born on 1 June 1873. She married Fr Dimitrie Alistar, who served in Răzeni, Chișinău County. During that period, she worked as a teacher for children in several villages. Sadly, her…

Jun 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian women in history: Elena Caragiani, Romania’s first female pilot and aviation journalist

Wednesday, May 13, marked 139 years since the birth of Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu, the first Romanian woman to obtain an aeroplane pilot’s licence. She was also a modern explorer and the first journalist to report from an aircraft. She was born in Tecuci into the family of a well-known Aromanian physician. In 1913, she became one…

May 25, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian women in history: Dr. Ana Aslan, founder of geriatrics and pioneer of anti-ageing medicine

Wednesday, May 20, marked 38 years since the repose of Dr Ana Aslan, founder of gerontology and geriatrics, medical fields dedicated to treating the effects of ageing. She established in Bucharest the world’s first institute devoted to this speciality and treated some of the most prominent names in global politics and show business. Ana Aslan…

May 25, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian women in history: Natalia Manoilescu Dinu proved that women can substantially contribute to theological thought

106 years ago, on March 14, Natalia Manoilescu Dinu was born in Bucharest. Her father, Mihail Manoilescu, made a notable contribution to international economic thought, but her calling was in theology. She followed the spiritual and academic footsteps of Saint Dumitru Stăniloae. As a young woman residing in Bucharest, she concurrently undertook studies in theology…

May 11, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian women in history: 20 years since the repose of Mother Benedicta, scholar who embraced monastic life

Tuesday marks 20 years since the repose of Mother Benedicta — academician Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga — who, during the communist period, urged her students to read the Bible and, after its fall, rose to become Vice-President of the Romanian Academy before choosing the path of monastic life. She was born on 20 August 1920 in Bucharest…

May 5, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian in history: Queen Helen, Righteous Among the Nations and the mother of a wise king

Sunday marked 130 years since the birth of Queen Helen of Romania, posthumously honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations for saving the lives of thousands of Jews and, indirectly, preventing the deportation of tens of thousands more through her interventions with Ion Antonescu. Alongside this courageous involvement in public affairs, she fulfilled…

May 4, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu