Please see below our June/July events briefing.
Catholic Union Events
Tuesday 12 July from 18.00 pm
Catholic Union Drinks. A social evening for Catholic Union members, guests and friends to meet each other and our staff and Council. We have hired the upstairs bar of the Windsor Castle pub (formerly known as the Cardinal). There will be a cash bar and food available to buy from the pub menu. There is no need to register – you can just turn up! This is primarily a social event so feel free to invite friends, especially any who might be interested in joining the Catholic Union. Venue: The Windsor Castle (upstairs bar), 23 Francis Street, London SW1P 1DN (behind Westminster Cathedral).
Monday 18 July at 19.30
The Work of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. A Catholic Union Webinar with Alasdair Henderson, a barrister and member of the EHRC, who will talk about its work and give an insider’s insight into the difficult and controversial issues with which it deals. No need to register. A zoom link will be circulated nearer the time.
Saturday 23 July 2022
Catholic Union Summer Gathering. Some places are still available for the Catholic Union Summer Gathering on Saturday 23 July at St Mary’s College, Oscott, near Birmingham. Please join us to hear more about the Catholic Union’s work and to see the beautiful Pugin chapel and other treasures of Oscott. Tickets are only £28 per person, which includes lunch, refreshments and a tour. The day will start with Mass in the Chapel at 11 am. Full details on how to book are here.
Monday 19 September at 18.30
Craigmyle Lecture 2022. Baroness Hollins will deliver the annual Catholic Union Craigmyle Lecture on Keeping Children and Vulnerable Adults Safe at the University of Notre Dame. In person and live streamed. Followed by a Drinks Reception. Registration details to follow.
Wednesday 16 November at 18.45
Catholic Union AGM at the London Jesuit Centre (Aula Magna), Farm Street Church, London. More details to follow.
Forthcoming Events
Third-party events are occasionally cancelled without notice so if in any doubt please check with the organisers before attending.
Monday 4 July, 1800-19.45.
Book Launch and Discussion: No Escape by Nury Turkel. The University of Notre Dame, London, will host a book launch and discussion for Nury Turkel’s No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs. The event is scheduled to complement the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion of Belief, which will be held in London on 5-6 July. The event is free to attend but please register.
Tuesday 5 July & Wednesday 6 July
Freedom of Religious Belief Conference. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will host the international Ministerial conference to promote freedom of religion or belief in London. The Catholic Union will have a presence. For more information please visit the UK Freedom of Religion or Belief Forum website.
Wednesday 6 July, 18.00-19.00
The Tablet Summer School- Traditions of Christian Spirituality. Led by Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, Dominican Spirituality. One of four talks for the Tablet Summer School programme. A season ticket costs £60.
Thursday 7 July at 12 noon
Restoring Faith in Politics. The first James Brockenshire Lecture on Public Services given by the Rt Hon Theresa May MP at the Institute for Government. Please register.
Thursday 7 July from 18.00-19.00
Faith and Seafaring – the impact of war on sea ministry. Thousands of seafarers are affected by the crisis in Ukraine. Join Martin Foley – Chief Executive/European Regional Coordinator, Stella Maris, Fr Olexander Smerechynskyy, Ukraine National Director and port chaplain in Odessa and Rostyslave Inzhestoikov from Stella Maris in the Ukraine, as they talk to Ruth Gledhill, the Tablet’s Home and Digital News Editor about Faith and Seafaring and the impact of war on sea ministry. Tickets are £12.50. For more information please visit The Tablet.
8-10th July, Oxford.
2022 Scripture & Spirituality Conference. Made in God’s Image: A Fresh Vision for Human Flourishing to be held at the Carmelite Priory at Boars Hill, just outside the city of Oxford and also available online. Delegates will hear from eight renowned speakers, authors and experts explaining how we can more greatly reflect the Divine Image in a world in so much need of healing. The online price for the three day conference is £100 or £300 for residential. For further information please click here.
Friday 8 and Saturday 9 July at 19.30
San Ignacio de Loyola. First UK performance of the opera by Domenico Zipoli (1688-1725). Friday 8 July at Brompton Oratory and Saturday 9 July at Farm Street Church. See her for details.
Sunday 10 July
Sea Sunday. Every year churches around the world celebrate Sea Sunday. It is a day for people to come together to pray for seafarers and fishers, and thank them for the vital role they play in all our lives. Find out more at Stella Maris.
Monday 11 July at 18.00
Bronwen Maddox Valedictory Lecture. The departing Director of the Institute for Government will reflect on what is wrong with British Government – and what is right- and what needs to change to make it better. An online event, please register.
Tuesday 12 July 18.30-20.00
Lord Glasman: Just Voting? Political Participation and Civic Life. This is the second lecture in the Together for the Common Good series in partnership with Lincoln Cathedral. These events will be helpful for thoughtful Christians from any church background (and their friends from all faiths and none) interested in civic and spiritual renewal. For more booking information please click here.
Tuesday 12 July 16.30-20.30
The Poetics of Liturgy and Place: An evening of sculpture and music at Farm Street Church, Mayfair, London. The event will begin at 16.30 with a talk by Timothy Schmalz entitled the face of our faith: a sculptor’s journey. It will be followed by mass at 18.00 and a musical performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time at 18.45 and then a wine reception. Tickets cost £15 per person or £22 to include the wine reception. For more information and tickets please click here.
Tuesday 12 – Thursday 14 July
Catholicism, Literature and the Arts: Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz, Robin Jensen and Romana Huk from the University of Notre Dame, Paul Hills from the Courtauld Institute of Art and Valentin Gerlier from the University of Chester are keynote speakers at this event. An international interdisciplinary conference, hosted by Durham University, taking place in London. For more information on pricing and tickets please visit https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/catholic-studies/about-us/events/catholicism-literature-and-the-arts-conference/
Wednesday 13 July 9.30 – 14.30
The Faith Alliance Summit is taking place at Coventry Cathedral on Wednesday 13 July. The summit is the first ever gathering of faith leaders from across the West Midlands with a pledge to end youth violence. Booking details can be found here. Tickets are free but spaces are limited.
Thursday 21 July, 18.00-19.00
Trauma, Resilience and Pastoral Recovery After the Pandemic: What can the Church (and all of us) do to help? Dr Natalie K Watson, theologian and publishing editor of the Pastoral Review in conversation with Raymond Friel, OBE, CEO, Caritas Social Action Network and Jim McManus, Executive Director of Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council & President, UK Association of Directors of Public Health. To find out more about this event run by The Tablet please click here. Tickets are £12.50.
Thursday 4 – Sunday 7 August
Faith and Reason 2: Catholicism and Contemporary Culture. Residential course at Stonyhurst exploring the rationality of the Catholic faith in today’s world. Tickets vary in price, starting from £185 per person.
Friday 26 – Monday 29 August
The search for happiness: the cardinal virtues and the good life. Residential course at Stonyhurst exploring four pillars of the good life – prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance – and how they orient and transform us in our search for happiness. Tickets vary in price, starting at £120 per person.
Friday 26 – Monday 29 August
Youth 2000 Summer Festival at Ampleforth Abbey, Yorkshire. A retreat filled with fun, friendship, faith and rejoicing. For more information please click here.
Dates for your Diary:
August/September
Catholic Association for Racial Justice will be holding seven zoom events in July and August to reflect on how policy and practice may promote diversity, equality and community in UK society. There is no charge and to register please email the CARJ Administration at [email protected] More information can be found here.
Sunday 4 September 13.00 – 17.00
Annual Harvington Hall Pilgrimage. Canon Richard Walker will celebrate a special Mass to commemorate the English Martyrs in the beautiful grounds of Harvington Hall in Worcestershire. The event offers you a chance to reflect on our own faith and the persecution, and often martyrdom, of Catholics during the English Reformation. More information about the day can be found here.
Saturday 17 September
Westminster Social Justice and Peace Forum, 10.30-1.30 pm at St Aloysius Church Hall, 20 Phoenix Road, London NW1 1TA. The theme of the meeting will be to accompany refugees. Please register in advance.
Thursday 22 September 9.30 – 16.00
Why end of life companionship matters: Connecting the experience of hospitals, hospices, community, online and faith groups. Hosted by St Mary’s University Centre for the Art of Dying Well, this conference will profile examples of end of life companionship in a range of different contexts, including online. Keynote speakers include: Professor John Ellershaw – Head of the Palliative Care Unit, University of Liverpool; Anita Hayes – Head of Learning and Workforce – Hospice UK; Sue Ryder Online Bereavement Community; Compassionate Communities and St Vincent de Paul Society. To find out more information please click here. Tickets cost £15 on zoom and £25 in person.
Sunday 25 September 2022
World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The theme is building the future with migrants and refugees. For more information visit Migrants Refugees.
September/October 2022
St Bernadette Relic Tour. In September and October 2022 the relics of Saint Bernadette will journey on pilgrimage to England, Scotland and Wales for the very first time. Click here to find dates at a church near you.
Party conferences: Liberal Democrat Conference, Brighton, Saturday 17 September until Tuesday 20 September. Labour Party Conference, Liverpool, Saturday 24 September until Wednesday 28 September. Conservative Party Conference, Birmingham, Sunday 2 October until Wednesday 5 October. The Catholic Union will be engaging at the party conferences.
6 May – 30 July 2023
Saint Francis of Assisi. The first major art exhibition in the UK to explore the life and legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), will be staged at the National Gallery next Spring. The exhibition presents the art and imagery of St Francis from 13th Century to today and examines how his spiritual radicalism, his commitment to the poor, his love of God and nature, as well as his striving for peace between enemies and openness to dialogue to other religions, make him a figure of enormous relevance to our times. For more information click here.
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