Rochdale Catenians celebrate 1000th meeting

Celebration - President John Welsh and members of the Rochdale Circle with guests Grand President David Taylor, Grand Vice President Joe McNally, Director Paul Mainon and Vernon de Cruz, Past Grand President Mike O'Malley and Provincial President Frank Rafferty.

The Rochdale Circle of the Catenian Association celebrated its 1000th meeting at the Town Hall last weekend.

The meeting and reception was attended by 30 members and 60 visitors and was followed by a dinner and dancing to the music of The Gershwin Gang.

Rochdale Circle President John Welsh and his wife Ann, hosted a magnificent evening with guests of honour, Grand President David Taylor and his wife Kathleen, Grand Vice President Joe McNally and his wife Philomena, Director Paul and Pat Mainon, Provincial President Frank and Mary Rafferty, MPs Paul Rowen and Jim Dobbin with his wife Pat, and the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Robin Parker and Mayoress Ann Jones. Former Grand Presidents Mike O'Malley and Phil Barnes also joined in the celebration.

The Rochdale circle held its first meeting in 1923 and has been going strong ever since, holding its regular monthly meetings in the Royal Toby in Castleton.

The Catenian Association, an association of practising Catholic laymen whose motto is “Strengthening Family Life through Fellowship and Faith”, celebrated its Centenary in May last year in Manchester, where it was formed in 1908 under the guidance of Bishop Casartelli of Salford.