Tracey McClure is an American journalist and the founding president of Donne in Vaticano , the first women's association in Vatican City.
McClure was born in the United States and grew up in the Washington, D.C., area. [1] [2] She then attended Smith College in Massachusetts. After studying abroad in Rome, she moved there permanently and began working as a journalist. [2] She worked for over 20 years as a producer, broadcaster, and reporter at Vatican Radio, Vatican City's official broadcasting service. [3] [4] [5] She has also worked for the English-language version of the semi-official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and for the city-state's Dicastery for Communication. [1] [3] [5]
Her work has included co-creating the radio project "The Church’s Hidden Women," which brings to light the stories of women in the Roman Catholic Church. [1]
In 2016, McClure co-founded Donne in Vaticano ("Women in the Vatican"), the first women's organization in the heavily male-dominated Vatican City. [3] [4] [6] [7] She and the group's other organizers initially faced resistance within the Vatican—including from fellow women, some of whom expressed concern the group would constitute a "subversive association or a trade union"—and it took four years to get off the ground. However, it was eventually formally recognized by the city-state's authorities. Donne in Vaticano aims to serve as a "solidarity network" for women working in the Vatican. [3] In addition to being a co-founder of the organization, McClure serves as its first president. [3] [5] [6] [7]