Members - Hexham and Newcastle

Hexham and Newcastle Diocesan Branch - Founded 1911

President: Mrs Elizabeth Dixon
Vice-President: Mrs Nancy Anderson
Treasurer: Mrs Pat Biagioni
Secretary: Mrs Kathleen Lucas
 Spiritual Director: Father Pat O’Connell


Sections:-
Ashington, Bell’s Close, Billingham, Birtley, Byermoor, Consett, Fenham, Leam Lane, Hexham, Jarrow, Morpeth, Stockton (St. Cuthbert’s), Stockton (St. Patrick’s), Sunderland (St. Cecilia’s), Sunderland (St. Mary’s) and Whitley Bay.

In this the Centenary year of the Catholic Women’s League, Hexham and Newcastle Branch will be celebrating their 95th Anniversary. During the past 95 years members have changed but the work of the League remains steadfast to the beliefs of our founder Margaret Fletcher. Our aims are to work for the good of the Catholic Church and to further the education of women.

The work of the Catholic Women’s League in Hexham and Newcastle Diocese continues in sixteen Sections (as listed above) and we have 14 Direct Members. Their involvment ranges from Lay-ministers to Church cleaners, Parish Councillors to members of hospital management boards, not forgetting the members that visit the sick and help in Charity shops. We also have representatives working on other bodies, such as the World Union of Catholic Women and Justice and Peace.
Sadly today like many similar organisations, we need new members to keep the vital Catholic ethos at the forefront of our society. Therefore we would welcome ladies to come to our meetings and find out more about the C.W.L. and the work that we do in our Parishes, our towns, our Dioceses, our country and in the wider world.
It may seem from the above that it is all work and no play, but we do have a social side, with regular social gatherings, such as Fashion Shows, Race Nights, Coffee Mornings and Pie and Pea Suppers. Meanwhile on the spiritual side we have Retreats and regular Masses. The highlight of our Centenary year so far has to be our National Pilgrimage to Walsingham, where 40 of our members attended.

Hexham and Newcastle Celebrate 100 years of C.W.L.
On Saturday 9th September it was the turn of Hexham and Newcastle Branch to celebrate the Centenary year of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL). The venue was St. Mary’s Cathedral, where 185 members and guests including the Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, Councillor Sheila Packham, attended the Mass of St. Margaret Clitherow (Patroness) concelebrated by Bishop Kevin Dunn, assisted by Father Pat O’Connell (Branch Spiritual Advisor), 6 diocesan and 2 visiting African priests. During his homily Bishop Kevin spoke of how the League had been an important part of his life, his mother being a League member in Staffordshire, and how, he as a priest had appreciated the contributions of League members in his various parishes.

Following the Mass members and guests (who included Mrs Margaret Valentine National Treasurer, Mrs Joan Cheetham Regional Officer and Officers of Leeds and Middlesbrough Branches) made their way to the Old Assemble Rooms for lunch. After which Bishop Kevin and Kathleen Lucas Newcastle and Hexham Branch President cut the celebration cake, which was distributed to members.

Bishop Kevin spoke of the many facets of the League and how Margaret Fletcher a Catholic convert, daughter of an Anglican priest and founder of the CWL had campaigned like the suffragettes of her time for better education for women. He then went on to talk about the ‘Tea Huts’ that league members ran during the two world wars and of the help they had provided over the years to displaced people. Sadly even in the 21st century these problems still exist and the guiding principles that Margaret Fletcher spoke of at the inaugural meeting for the Newcastle Branch in 1911 still hold firm.

Remember to always consult the clergy
Remember to use common sense in what you undertake
Remember always the CWL motto Charity Work Loyalty