Our Lady's Catechists is an association of
men and women who are qualified to give religious instruction at the request of
parents or parish priests.
The picture at
the top of this page is that of our
Logo. Click on the picture to read an explanation of the logo of Our
Lady's Catechists.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Our Lady's Catechists
was founded
in 1923 when Cardinal Bourne asked Margaret Fletcher, foundress of the Catholic
Women's League, to help with the instruction of those children who were not at
Catholic schools and who, at that time, had little hope of instruction in their
Faith.
Two years later there were 52 trained
catechists and an equal number in training. For members at a distance from
the training centre a course by correspondence was prepared and approved by the
Hierarchy. Members passing an examination at the end of the course were
given a certificate of competence to teach.
In 1931 a standing committee of Our Lady's
Catechists was established and in 1956 became a committee of the Catholic
Women's League, with a representative of every Diocesan branch of the CWL.
Our Lady's Catechists was financed by the donation of Associate Members.
By this time there were 111 members teaching 1,000 children. A Postal
Course was prepared to meet the needs of children living at a distance from a
Catholic school. In 1950 the work was extended to parts of the Highlands
and Islands of Scotland.
In 1960 the OLC Certificate was recognised
by the Hierarchy and the Bishops agreed to countersign the certificates.
At the request of Cardinal Heenan men were included in OLC. A new Postal
Course of Home Study with a corresponding tutor was produced and became known as
the Diploma course.
In 1976 Qualified Teachers of (Catholic)
Religion were invited to receive special membership of OLC, subject to a period
of probation.
In 1980 in response to the increasing
demand from priests of parish catechists, and from parents and other who wanted
to update their knowledge of Scripture and Doctrine after Vatican II, the
Foundation Course, a postal course, was started. Certificates were awarded
after successful examination and countersigned by the Bishop. Our Lady's
Catechists was invited and agreed to organise and run the Service through
Religious Education (Roman Catholic) for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
1986-1998 OLC co-operated with the
National Project and Diocesan training courses and became a member of the
National Board of Religious Inspectors and Advisers. The work with
children continues but increasingly OLC works with adults both in parishes and
in providing courses. The need for this work, begun more than 80 years ago
is as great today as it was then.
The work is organised as a Special
Committee of the Catholic Women's League but membership is not restricted to
members of the League. Both men and women may join. The service
offered it complementary to the religious education provision in each diocese.
All the Courses are correspondence courses
and fees are kept to a minimum.
The work falls into two main Categories:
