Branch President Gaye Casey carried the Salford Banner at Walsingham

In 1908, under the auspices of the late Bishop Casertelli, the Branch was established at a meeting in the Midland Hotel, Manchester at which our foundress Margaret Fletcher was present. The Holy Father, Pius X sent a papal blessing. One of the first activities of the Branch was to arrange training courses to enable members to give the Catholic point of view on questions of the day. An activity which continues today.
The first affiliation of the Branch was to the League of National Life.


Branch Officers (L-R): Anne Thomas, Gaye Casey, Teresa Burns, Sheila Chadwick and Maragaret Murray

Our Branch hosts Branch meetings in rotation thus visiting all areas of the Diocese. All sections are involved with work at Parish level in all aspects of Parish life i.e. Eucharistic ministry, Lay reading, Church cleaning, membership of Parish councils, membership of the Justice and Peace Commission and many more activities.
We have representatives on other bodies in both the Diocese and the community at large
Some examples are:
• Churches Together
• W.W.D.O.P.
• Council of Christians and Jews
• SPUC
• LIFE
• Catholic Rescue Society
• Marriage Care
• Parish Child Protection
• School Governors
• Victim Support
• Catholic Family Care
• Limbless Ex- Soldiers Association
• Blind and Partially Sighted Association
• Hospital League of Friends
• RNLI

Members are involved also in other social welfare activities such as, bereavement counselling, sick visiting, aid to refugees and asylum seekers, volunteering at hospices around the region including Rainbow Trust Children’s Hospice and Willow Wood Hospice, and working in their charity shops. Some members work in luncheon clubs for the elderly, hospital coffee bars and other charity shops.

Throughout the years members have taken on special projects for support such as Fr. Nathaniel’s Mission to Peru, and through Catholic Family Care collecting spectacles for Uganda.

We are fortunate to have a Social Committee, which arranges events for us to meet in a purely informal and relaxed atmosphere so that friendships are able to flourish throughout the Branch. They also arrange events of a more spiritual nature so that our work can be motivated and strengthened by our Catholic faith.

Every year members are involved in providing refreshments at the Rescue Garden Party at Francis House. We also hold a joint Celebration of the Mass with our sister organisation the Union of Catholic Mothers every October
Looking forward to our Centenary year has led to an element of reflection about the way forward in the future, but also to a sense of pride in our achievements thus far.

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