Sister Joan D. Chittister, O.S.B., (born April 26, 1936) is a Benedictine nun, author and speaker.
She is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, where she served as prioress for 12 years. Sister Chittister writes a weekly web column for the National Catholic Reporter, "From Where I Stand". She is the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality and an international lecturer and writer on topics of peace and justice, spirituality, and women's issues in both church and society. Sr. Joan holds a Master's Degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in speech communication theory from Penn State University.
Chittister's demands for the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood have made her a controversial figure, as have her claims of inequality of women in the Church.
She has authored over 40 books including: The Gift of Years; The Liturgical Year, which won a 2010 Christian Retailers Choice Award in 2010; Welcome to the Wisdom of the World; In Search of Belief; Called to Question; The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible; The Breath of the Soul; Uncommon Gratitude with Archbishop Rowan Williams, and most recently, God's Tender Mercy.