This paper aims to explore an alternative model of femininity that, while not free from tensions, enjoyed a certain degree of legitimacy within Catholic discourse. This model presented freely chosen singlehood as a means of fully committing oneself to the advancement of the Church without taking religious vows, particularly through lay apostolic activity in organizations such as Catholic Action for Women. María Salas Larrazábal, who held leadership positions in several Catholic women's organizations, advocated this model of celibacy in works such as "Nosotras, las solteras" (1959) and "Solteras de hoy" (1966). In this paper these texts will be analyzed in relation to the relative flexibilization of gender norms that took place during the second half of the Franco's dictatorship both within Catholicism and in Spanish society as a whole.