Conferences English Catholic History Association

Joanna Bogle gives an engaging presentation about the fascinating, little-known life of Caroline Chisholm, Catholic reformer and friend of emigrants in the Australia of the 1840s. Caroline travelled to Australia with her husband and family in 1838. Very soon she realised that … Continue reading →

Watch the video below for our latest Zoom presentation from Leanda de Lisle, who gave a wonderful portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. For the audio only listen via the player below or go to our podcast … Continue reading →

Nicholas Breakspear was elected pope in 1154, but his story started long before that. The son of a local churchman near St Albans, he would battle his way across Europe to defend and develop Christianity, facing war in Scandinavia and … Continue reading →

At more than thirty-one years (1903-1935), Cardinal Bourne’s is the longest reign of any Archbishop of Westminster. Today, with the possible exception of his turbulent relationship with Bishop Amigo of Southwark, Bourne is virtually unknown. That obscurity is unmerited. His … Continue reading →

Francois Longuet was one of several French émigré priests who came to Reading in the wake of the French Revolution. He founded a new chapel in Reading, the first purpose-built one since the Reformation, which he called The Chapel of … Continue reading →

The Papal Zouaves were the volunteers from Britain and Ireland who flocked to Rome to help the Pope defend the Papal States between 1860 and 1870.  Fr Nicholas Schofield gives a detailed and fascinating account of this little known episode … Continue reading →

Rev Carleton is a Deacon of Brentwood Diocese, UK. He gives an introduction to Cardinal Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Mary, and son of Blessed Margaret Pole. To listen to the talk click on the arrow below or … Continue reading →

Dr Francis Young spoke on this subject to our members during a recent Zoom lecture. It happened also to be the Feast of St Edmund to which he alludes at the beginning of the talk. Dr Young gives a masterly … Continue reading →

We are grateful to Dr Hazard, of the School of History, University College Dublin, for providing us with this recording for our podcast which relates to a unique collection of letters written by Loreto Sisters during the Spanish Civil War. … Continue reading →

“The spiritual guide, the apologist, the modern visionary, the antidote to liberalism, the defender of conscience, the man who never sinned against the light – these are the reasons why Newman should be considered a Doctor of the Church.”  Blessed … Continue reading →

Reading Abbey, a Cluniac monastery, was founded in 1121 by Henry I, the son of William the Conqueror, in remembrance of his own son William, who had died tragically at sea. Little remains now of what was once the largest and … Continue reading →

Bishop Laurence Walter Youens was a convert to the Catholic faith from Anglicanism, and was ordained priest in 1901 in High Wycombe, the first Catholic priest ordained there since the Reformation. After a period of missionary work in North Africa, … Continue reading →

St Alphege was born near Bath in 954 and died a martyr 1011.  Little known today, his life is however an example and inspiration.  Dr Giles Mercer, former headmaster of Stonyhurst and Prior Park Schools and author of a recent … Continue reading →

26 Fr Richard Finn OP, a member of the Dominican house in Oxford, gives a lucid and informative account of the establishment of the Dominican Order in England. He covers their growth up to the time of the Reformation, their … Continue reading →

Dr Simon Johnson is Director of Heritage at Downside Abbey, a Benedictine Abbey and school in Somerset, England. Established in the 19th century, Downside is home to one of the best collections of religious manuscripts in the world. A recent … Continue reading →

Lady Clare Asquith published her acclaimed book ‘Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare’ in 2005, a study of how Shakespeare secretly addressed the most profound political issues of his day, and how his plays embody a … Continue reading →

St Nicholas Owen was arguably one of the most fearless and courageous of the Catholic martyrs of the Reformation. He learnt joinery as a trade and put his skills to use in fashioning the most ingenious priest-holes in England during … Continue reading →

The son of a Congregational minister from Leeds, Rousell David Byles was influenced by High Church ideas at school and then at Oxford. He began training for Anglican ministry during which time he converted to Catholicism and was subsequently ordained … Continue reading →

There are approximately 20,000 extant letters written by Blessed John Henry Newman. These have been gathered together in 32 volumes by the long and painstaking work of members of the Birmingham Oratory. Mgr Strange, theologian and Newman scholar, has recently … Continue reading →

Glastonbury is the oldest shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in England, pre-dating the better-known Marian shrine of Walsingham by many 100s of years. Since the destruction of Glastonbury Abbey at the Reformation, the shrine’s Marian origins have been … Continue reading →