cardiff catenians

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 19 October 2023

2023 World Youth Day

After a recent Circle Meeting, Cardiff Circle and wives had as dinner guests Dr. Chineze Ivenso, one of the leaders of World Youth Day, Dr. Kath Wooding, a fundraiser in Wales for WYD and two young men who had attended World Youth Day this year in Portugal.

Attendance at World Youth Day was expensive and our guests were with us partly to thank Cardiff Circle for having agreed to provide funding in support of young Catholics from Wales to go to Portugal to attend, but also to give us some feedback from their experiences.

Freddie Johnson and Ezequiel Moncerate had been among a group of 56 from the Archdiocese of Cardiff and Diocese of Menevia, including Archbishop Mark O’Toole, who travelled to Portugal to be part of this great event. Freddie and Ezequiel gave a fascinating slide show following their experiences in Portugal and eloquently commented on the impact it had on them and the huge number of young Catholics who attended from all around the world.

There was a very full programme starting in Lisbon on 1^st June and concluding in Fatima in the presence of Pope Francis. Highlights for Freddie and Ezquiel included the Pope’s Rosary for 200,000 attendees on 5^th June and then being part of a crowd of 1.5million at an open air Mass celebrated by His Holiness on 6^th June, a spectacular finale to their trip. The boys talked of lasting friendships built up within their travelling party but more so of the impact it had on them to mix with and befriend young Catholics from all around the world and to feel connected through their faith.

These young men and the hard work undertaken in support of young Catholics by Chineze and Kath left us in no doubt that our modest contribution towards their costs had been more than worthwhile.

Freddie & Ezequiel

Chineze, Kath, Freddie & Ezequiel

Comments Off on 2023 World Youth Day

Posted in Youth Activities

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 18 September 2022

Relics of St Bernadette Soubirous

On Sunday 11September 2022 the relics of St Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes came to Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral as part of a UK tour. Rev. Fr. Robert James, the Priest-in Charge of the Cathedral asked the Brothers of Cardiff Circle to act as stewards for the duration of the visit.

So several Cardiff Brothers and their ladies attended 11am Mass at the Cathedral, celebrated by The Most Reverend George Stack, Archbishop Emeritus, and then assisted with carrying the (heavy!) reliquary into the Cathedral before then taking shifts as stewards to assist the pilgrims visiting the relics for the rest of Sunday and all of Monday morning before the relics departed.

There was a steady flow of people of all ages and countries who patiently queued to venerate and pray before the holy relics. Many also took away bottles of holy water from Lourdes which was brought along with the relics. It was wonderful to see how many of the visitors were visibly moved as they kissed or touched the very impressive golden reliquary. Cardiff Brother, John Edwards, was chief steward, an easy task for an ex policeman! Cardiff President, John Worthington, took charge of the Monday morning.

Comments Off on Relics of St Bernadette Soubirous

Posted in General, Uncategorized

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 8 January 2022

President’s Diary

Click here to view a copy of the latest edition of the President’s Social & Meeting Calendar.

Comments Off on President’s Diary

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 23 October 2021

It’s 10 In A Row for Cardiff

The crowd were on the pitch, they thought it was all over …. and indeed it was never in doubt when Cardiff Circle entered the annual Provincial Quiz hosted by Newport Circle at the Fugitives RFC! Which was effectively how they were greeted on arrival and throughout the evening.

Br Mike Murphy set a challenging quiz with two picture rounds which may not have contained any Catholics at all never mind the Popes, Cathedrals, Shrines and Saints that is the normal meat and drink for Br Peter Sullivan. Nonetheless, the Cardiff Circle team with usual Team captain Bernard Adshead and long time Team member John Roberts both unavailable, playing under the name BAD HEADS BUT NO BADSHEAD , saw off the challenge to win with over 80 points, compared with the second-place team in the 70+ points and third place team with 69 points. The Cup was reunited with the carrier bag in which it arrived and will be returned to Br Bernard in due course.

While it was its customary good evening the turnout was a disappointment. With Swindon sending two teams, Newport deploying two teams of at least six (all agreed before we started) and Monmouth-Wyedean, Weston-s-Mare and Cardiff only having one team of four each (Director Br Bob Hussey was also present, although it’s not clear which team he joined), the room was only half-full and indeed the buffet was set out in the room rather than on the pool table next door – the first time this is known to have happened.

Nonetheless, they came, they saw and they answered more questions right than the others. Br Mark knew his Henries, Br Martin was a demon on identifying biscuits (who eats Bath Olivers anyway?) and Br Peter was able to nail the Bishop of Rochester even if he couldn’t see him, while Bro Jon managed to write legibly and spell enough of the answers correctly for their knowledge to be marked. All round a good team effort secured Cardiff’s 10th win in a row (2020 not being contested due to the pandemic), and Br’s Mark and Martin even won in the raffle!

**Provincial President Barry Paddington presents the Cup to Peter Sullivan**

**Provincial President with the victorious Cardiff team – l to r – Jon Dartnell, Peter Sullivan, Mark Johnson & Martin Brown**

Comments Off on It’s 10 In A Row for Cardiff

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 4 May 2020

Cardiff Council Zoom In

Earlier this evening the Circle Council met for the second time using the Zoom video conferencing software. As expected there was not a great deal to discuss, the main issue being the reports on the ring round system which indicated that generally all members were coping with the lockdown. Prayers were said for Kath Vickery, Don Clarey’s daughter and Ray George’s sister.

A suggestion was made for a quiz for all members and John Worthington will pick this up. A virtual pub lunch was suggested and this will be followed up.

Comments Off on Cardiff Council Zoom In

Posted in Meetings

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 26 October 2019

Nine in a Row for Cardiff

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 1 October 2019

Jacob Abraham Presentation

At a recent Circle Meeting, Cardiff Immediate Past President, Bro Bernard Hayward, made a presentation to Nicola Abraham, founder of the Jacob Abraham Foundation, as a result of the funds raised during his Presidential Year. Nicola, set up the foundation after she lost her 24-year-old son, Jacob, to suicide in 2015. On a previous visit to the Circle, Nicola had explained that she had found that there was nothing available by way of support for families who find themselves in this heart-breaking situation. The charity, which gets no support from public funds, has expanded in a very short space of time and is now involved in:

Intervention to prevent potential suicides actually happening. To date they believe that they have pulled back about 35 young lives from the bring of suicide.
Immediate support for people affected by suicide including a comfort pack, advice and information. They also run monthly support groups or 1:1 home visits.
Suicide Intervention & Prevention Training for adults and young people to recognise the initial signs in young people which can lead to them taking their own lives and to give people the confidence to intervene when they recognise the signs.

Bro Bernard was delighted to present them with a cheque for £3,764.50 from the proceeds of a charity Golf Day. raffles at Circle functions and other charity efforts.

Immediate Past President Bernard Hayward presents the cheque to Nicola Abraham

Comments Off on Jacob Abraham Presentation

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 1 October 2019

Celebrating Centenary in Style

Cardiff Circle celebrated their Centenary on 28 September 2019 at Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral and Jury’s Inn Hotel. The event commenced with Holy Mass at the cathedral at which The Most Reverend George Stack, Archbishop of Cardiff was the celebrant and The Very Reverend Canon Peter Collins, and The Reverend Father Daniel Stanton were co-celebrants. During the Mass the Archbishop blessed and dedicated a memorial plaque to the centenary which will be installed in the Cathedral. The Mass was attended by around 120 brothers and ladies including Great Britain National President Brother Phil Brown and Linda and Province 12 President Mike Parry and Barbara.

The evening continued with a Centenary Meeting in Jury’s Inn attended by 38 Cardiff brothers, 44 visiting brothers, the 3 clergy and 2 prospective members.

The final element of the celebration was a dinner attended by 150 brothers. ladies and guests including the 3 clergy and The Right Honourable Daniel De’Ath Lord Mayor of Cardiff and the Lady Mayoress. Prior to the meal, at the reception, the assembly was entertained by harpist Alis Huws, who was recently appointed as Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales. At the end of an excellent meal, the Lord Mayor gave a welcome address. In his speech, Bro Phil Brown said that Catenians needed to be more active in “getting the name out there” as there are far too many people who have not heard of Catenians or have a total misconception of what they are about. He then presented Bro Phil O’Brien of Cardiff with a 40 year scroll and a bouquet to his wife, Josie, before proposing a toast to Cardiff Circle.

In his address, Cardiff President, Bro Bernard Adshead thanked Bro Philip for his kind words about the Circle and also thanked all those who had given their time over the last 2 years organising the whole centenary year. He went on to paint a picture of Cardiff in 1919 and listed some of the organisations with whom Cardiff shared its centenary including British Airways and Tesco. Bro Bernard then presented the National President with a specially carved Welsh love spoon which incorporated the Catenian logo. Finally, he presented Linda Brown, The Lady Mayoress and his own wife, Vickie, with bouquets before proposing a toast to the Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

The evening concluded with The Archbishop responding after congratulating the Circle and praising the work that Catenians do, often unnoticed, in the church.

PHOTO GALLERY

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Comments Off on Celebrating Centenary in Style

Posted in Social Events

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 29 August 2019

100th Birthday Lunch

Posted by: Cardiff 36 Webmaster | 20 July 2019

Cardiff to the Rescue

When final year medical students Natasha Logier and Gaautham Nathaniel applied for a Bursary grant towards their proposed project they unfortunately fell foul of the Bursary Fund rules that prevent grants when the project is a “medical elective”. When Cardiff brothers heard of this they came to the rescue and raised their own bursary of £520 to help the students with their expenses.

Natasha and Nathaniel chose to carry out a project in Ghana, West Africa, in St Dominic’s Hospital (SDH). SDH is a not for profit religious health facility which primarily offers healthcare services to the poor and needy. They decided that this would be appropriate as we they strongly wanted to experience medicine in a rural environment, in a developing country. This project gave them a platform to learn about different types of infectious diseases, to take part in medical outreach programmes and also practice and utilise our skills and knowledge that we have learnt from our time in medical school.

Natasha and Nathaniel visited the Circle to thank the brothers for their generosity and to report that they had both learnt a tremendous amount from their experiences in Ghana. From the difficulties and the challenges that the doctors face due to financial constraints of the patients, to the attitudes of the patients towards their own health and how various cultural beliefs can come in the way of providing good healthcare. They told how a huge number of patients had made a mark on then and how they will take these experiences forward with us in their future medical careers.

As a postscript, a few weeks later, the Circle were delighted to learn that Natasha and Nathaniel had married.