Piccard was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church as part of the "Philadelphia Eleven," recognized as the first women ordained as Episcopal priests in the U.S.
On July 29, 1974, Jeannette Piccard was among the first women to be ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church, a group historically known as the "Philadelphia Eleven." This ordination was a watershed moment for the Church and marked a significant step forward in the role of women in religious leadership within Protestant Christianity in the United States. Despite substantial opposition, this event challenged longstanding ecclesiastical traditions and the institutional barriers upheld by religious patriarchy. The Philadelphia Eleven's ordination paved the way for subsequent acceptance and inclusion of women in ecclesiastical positions, thereby reinforcing gender equality and the broader American civil rights movement of the 1970s in religious contexts.