Catholic Women’s League

The Catholic Women’s League is an international organisation founded in 1906 by Margaret Fletcher.  The aim of the CWL is to unite all Catholic women in a bond of common fellowship.  Its objectives are to …

  • Promote and support charitable works at parish, diocesan and national levels.
  • Train and encourage members to use their talents and skills in the service of the Church and the wider community.
  • Initiate and maintain charitable works, whether religious or educational or in the interests of moral and social welfare.
  • To support and affirm each other as Catholic women

Hemel West Section

The Boxmoor section was founded in 1974 by Rita Turner.  It is part of the Westminster Branch of the national organisation.  In 2019 Boxmoor parish (SS Mary & Joseph) joined with St. Mark’s parish to form the parish of Hemel West.  In June 2021 the Boxmoor section took the decision to change our name to Hemel West to reflect this.

Hemel West is a friendly and sociable group and always welcomes new members.

Meetings are usually held on the first Thursday of each month in St Joseph’s Hall at 7.45pm.  We like to keep the business side of things as brief as possible – the aim is to learn together, pray together and have fun together.   And raise a bit of money for our charities on the way!  As such we aim to offer a varied programme during the year.  We ran the monthly Soup Special in the parish centre and for the last four years (up to the onset of Covid) we organised the parish Christmas Fair and the annual Christmas Hamper Raffle.

During the pandemic the section has met via Zoom. In 2021 we organised a weekly Stations of the Cross and a reflection for Holy Week.  These times of prayer were open to any and all parishioners or interested parties.  Members also invited a local councillor to speak about her experiences and a representative from a LiveSimply parish to give a presentation on how we ourselves might rise to this challenge.   Again, these meetings were open to all.

Members have also participated in socially distanced walks, meeting in Gadebridge Park and having a coffee together.

The section takes part in national and international events organised by the League and other Catholic women’s organisations.

We do need new members however – so please get in touch and come along.  We hope to start meeting again, physically, in October 2021.  Keep an eye out in the newsletter for details.  Or contact our secretary, Anne Hanrahan on:  kannehanrahan@gmail.com