This is a monthly briefing to inform members of forthcoming meetings, lectures, conferences and other events. Please send any information about future events, especially events outside London, to director@catholicunion.org.uk.
There are numerous interesting events organised by the Las Casas Institute and others at Blackfriars Oxford, please see the Events Calendar on their website.
The Centre for Catholic Studies at the University of Durham has an excellent programme of Catholic lectures and other events. For details, click here.
The London Jesuit Centre also hosts a number of interesting courses. So does the Thomistic Institute in the USA though beware of the difference in time zones for live talks!
Catholic Union Events
Catholic Union Events
Wednesday 16 November at 18.45
Catholic Union AGM at the London Jesuit Centre (Aula Magna), Farm Street Church, London W1K 3AY on Wednesday 16 November at 18.45. Parish Mass at 6pm. Nomination forms and guidance notes may be obtained by emailing info@catholicunion.org.uk or telephoning the office 02087491321.
Monday 28 November at 18.30 (Doors at 18.00)
Craigmyle Lecture 2022, Monday 28 November at 18.30. This lecture was due to take place on Monday 19 September but was postponed owing to HM The Queen’s State Funeral. There is no need to re-register but if you are no longer able to attend it would be helpful if you could cancel your registration on Eventbrite. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Baroness Hollins will deliver the annual Catholic Union Craigmyle Lecture on ‘Keeping Children and Vulnerable Adults Safe – Insights from the Vatican’ at the University of Notre Dame (1 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG). In person and live streamed. All welcome, free to attend and followed by a Drinks Reception. You can register on Eventbrite or with the Catholic Union office at info@catholicunion.org.uk or on 020 87491321.
Sheila Hollins is a crossbench life peer and is a former President of both the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Medical Association. In 2014 she was appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. She is also a Vice-President of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. You can read a Profile of Baroness Hollins in the August edition of the Catholic Herald. The lecture is named for Lord Craigmyle (1923-1998), a former President of the Catholic Union.
Forthcoming Events
Third-party events are occasionally cancelled without notice so if in any doubt please check with the organisers before attending.
Tuesday 4 October, 13.00
Communicating Faith in a Post-Christian World. Christians in Government will be running this webinar. Free to attend.
Tuesday 4 October to 22 November, 17.30-19.00
Learning Catholic Belief & Doctrine with Thomas Aquinas (women only course). Sr Magdalene Eitenmiller OP will be leading this women only eight week course at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge. Taking place on Tuesdays 4 October to 22 November students will be introduced to the overall structure of Aquinas’ thought in general, and learn how to utilize the Summa theologiae with opportunities for discussion and questions.
Sunday 9 October 2022
Prisoners’ Sunday. The Prison Advice and Care Trust encourages parishes to remember prisoners and their families in prayer especially and to consider supporting the work of PACT on Prisoners’ Sunday. For more information please contact Theresa parish.action@prisonadvice.org.uk
Tuesday 11 October, 18.00-19.00
60 Years After the Opening of the Second Vatican Council. A Tablet webinar with Thomas O’Loughlin, Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Nottingham; Dr Alana Harris, Director of Liberal Arts and Senior Lecturer in Modern British History, King’s College London; and Dr Patricia Kelly, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of St Andrews, to discuss the impact of Vatican II, one of the most important events in Christian history. Tickets for the webinar cost £12.50 each.
Wednesday 12 October, 10.00 am
Prosperity Index Launch. The Legatum Institute is launching its 2022 UK Prosperity Index with a conversation between their CEO, Baroness Stroud and Sajid Javid MP to discuss UK prosperity and the levelling up agenda. The event will take place in London and places are limited.
Wednesday 12 October, 12.30pm
Can We Improve God’s Design. A lunchtime webinar with Fr Richard Ounsworth OP hosted by the Dominican Forum. The series of lunchtime webinars covers Transhumanism and human upgrades, evangelising aliens, and whether usury is still banned.
Sunday 16 October, 16.00-17.00
Creating Sacred Art. A lecture by Andrew White who is currently artist in residence at Farm Street Church, London. Woven together within his canvasses, both naturalism and symbolism represent the search for a deeper reality beyond our perception of the physical world. If you would like to attend in person – St Mary’s Church, 4 Holly Walk, Hampstead, London NW3 6QU – please email the Parish Administrator hampstead@rcdow.org.uk to book your place. You are welcome to livestream the lecture by visiting https://www.churchservices.tv/hampstead’
Tuesday 18 October, 13.00-14.00
Christian Engagement in Diversity and Inclusion. In this free Christians in Government webinar Joseph Clease will be speaking on the reasons why Christians should get more involved in the diversity and inclusion agenda. He will explain the current policy position respect to faith, set out why engaging with diversity and inclusion is congruent with Christian principles and provide his views on what our objectives might be, along with some practical tips.
Wednesday 19 October, 19.00-20.00
What does Servant Leadership Look Like in the Church Today? A Tablet webinar chaired by Jim McManus, a Chartered Psychologist, Chartered Scientist and Fellow of the British Psychological Society to talk about vocation and professionalism in clergy and laity and the links between the two. Tickets for the webinar cost £12.50 each.
Monday 24 October, 13.00
Should We Permit Voluntary Assisted Dying? A lecture at Barnard’s Inn Hall hosted by Gresham College. The lecture will explain the law and explore arguments for and against liberalisation. Online and in person.
Friday 28 October, all day
GK Chesterton Conference: The Polymath. The inaugural Notre Dame London Chesterton Conference focuses on G.K. Chesterton as a man with an array of interests and gifts, and celebrates the dedication of the newly opened G.K. Chesterton Collection housed at the Notre Dame London Global Gateway. At the University of Notre Dame, London, tickets cost £35.
Saturday 29 October, 19.00
Farm Street Ball Charity Ball 2022. The Farm Street Charity Ball will be held at The Savile Club, London. For more information please click here.
3 November- 24 November
Neighbours without Borders. A series of evening lectures to be held at Oscott College, Sutton Coldfield, to explore the role of the Church and dialogue in building such a culture of encounter in service to humanity.
Saturday 5 November, 19.00
Jerusalem Ball. The 8th Jerusalem Ball will be held at 1 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London SW1A 2EJ. Join us for a fun evening including dinner and dancing with live music. Proceeds from the Ball will go to projects in the Holy Land sponsored by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem assisting in either humanitarian aid, pastoral care or education to assist Christians in the Holy Land who are struggling. For further details and to book your tickets please visit https://jerusalemball.org.uk/ Champagne Reception 7pm. Dinner 8pm followed by dancing.
Saturday 12 November, all day.
Cost of Living Conference. Caritas Westminster is running a free all day conference on the cost of living crisis, open to representatives from all Diocesan parishes and schools. All Saints Catholic College, 75 Saint Charles Square, London W10 6EL.
Wednesday 16 November, 12.30
Should We Baptise ET? A Dominican Forum webinar led by Fr Toby Lees OP. If intelligent extra-terrestrial life exists, how should Christians treat it? Would we need to preach salvation to aliens? Could we welcome them into the Church?
Wednesday 23 November
Red Wednesday. Red Wednesday – Day of Action for the Persecuted Church.
Wednesday 23 November 2022
Theos Annual Lecture. Theos annual lecture to be given by historian Tom Holland; Humanism: A Christian Heresy. Booking will open next month.
Sunday 27 November at 16.00
The Beautiful Bridge between the Infinitely Big and the Infinitesimally Small. An in-person talk by Prof Maria Ubiali (Cambridge and CERN). If you are planning on attending in person please email the Parish Administrator at hampstead@rcdow.org.uk to book your place. You are welcome to livestream the lecture by visiting https://www.churchservices.tv/hampstead.
Monday 28 November at 18.10
Craigmyle Lecture 2022, Monday 28 November at 18.30. Baroness Hollins will deliver the annual Catholic Union Craigmyle Lecture on ‘Keeping Children and Vulnerable Adults Safe – Insights from the Vatican’ at the University of Notre Dame (1 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG). In person and live streamed. All welcome, free to attend and followed by a Drinks Reception. You can register on Eventbrite or with the Catholic Union office at info@catholicunion.org.uk or on 020 87491321.
Wednesday 14 December, 12.30
Does the Church Still Prohibit Usury? In person lunch run by the Dominican Forum with Fr Richard Ounsworth OP at CCLA, One Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB. Booking essential. Usury has a complicated history and laws against it did much to shape the society and economy of medieval Christendom. Are Christians still forbidden from charging interest on loans? Where did this prohibition originate, and what is its status today?
Looking further ahead
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.
If you don’t already subscribe to the Catholic Union’s weekly briefings please click here.