Gabrielle (Gabby) Bibeau

A photo of Gabrielle (Gabby) Bibeau, a doctoral student in the historical theology track in the Theology Department at Fordham University

Education

B.A. English and Religious Studies - University of Dayton, 2011

M.A. Theology - University of Dayton, 2019

Biography

Gabrielle Bibeau is a fourth-year PhD student in Theology at Fordham University. Her primary research interests are French Catholic nursing sisters in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century; religious frameworks for health, healing, and death; material religion; and the intersection between art, spirituality, and popular culture. Gabby was fortunate to be in formation as a Marianist Sister for several years after graduating college, and she is currently a committed Lay Marianist. Gabby's relationship with the Marianists and experience as a Catholic sister is where much of her interest in modern French and global Catholicism originated, particularly in her prior work as a Research and Program Assistant at the North American Center for Marianist Studies in Dayton, OH. Gabby loves hiking, going to art museums, listening to podcasts, and a good cup of coffee.

Notable Publications:
Academic Presentations:
  • “The Little Sisters of the Assumption and the Theological Tension of Social Catholicism.” Panel Paper: American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Catholic Studies Unit (November 2026)
  • “Healers of Bodies, Caretakers of Souls: Nursing and Pastoral Work of the Little Sisters of the Assumption in Late 19th-Century Paris.” Panel Paper: American Catholic Historical Association Annual Conference (January 2026, Chicago)
  • “Religious Charisms in Higher Education.” Panel Commentator: American Catholic Historical Association Annual Conference (January 2025, New York City)
Selected Grants and Fellowships:
  • Louisville Institute Doctoral Fellowship (2025-2027)
  • Mary Magdalene Impact Fellowship, Fordham University (Summer 2026)
  • Mother Theodore Guerin Research Travel Grant, Cushwa Center for the Study of Catholicism (Summer 2025)
  • Journal of Global Catholicism Graduate Scholar Seminar (January 2025)
  • Foreign Language and Area Study (FLAS) Grant for French intensive language study at the Catholic Institute of Paris: awarded by the MacMillan Center for European Studies at Yale University (Summer 2024)