Organizations in the Diocese
Many Catholic lay organizations serve the church and provide direct services in parishes and communities throughout the Diocese and beyond.
Catholic Women's League
The CWL are women called to prayer and action. Their Catholic faith calls them to leadership and action in a society that faces many inequities in social justice. As Catholic Women's League members they seek to make a real difference in the church and society as a whole. They want to reach out to women to build networks marked by collegiality and support of Catholic women. Together they use a common voice to address issues of social and political justice. The voice of Catholic women is heard in the local, provincial and federal legislatures. The parish and diocesan CWL work collaboratively to serve God and Canada.
Knight of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus were formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.
Development and Peace
Development and Peace (The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace) is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. Development and Peace is a membership led organization supported by parish collections, individual donations and government grants, principally from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
St. Vincent de Paul Society
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is a lay Catholic organization whose mission is to live the Gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice and joy. The Mission of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul implies seeing Christ in anyone who suffers, coming together as a family, having personal contact with the poor and helping in all possible ways.
Cursillo
Cursillo is an apostolic movement of the Roman Catholic Church. The Cursillo focuses on showing Christian lay people how to become effective Christian leaders over the course of a three-day weekend. The weekend includes fifteen talks, some given by priests and some by lay people. These talks are called "rollos". The major emphasis of the weekend is to ask participants to take what they have learned back into the world, on what is known as the "fourth day." The method stresses personal spiritual development, as accelerated by weekly group reunion (after the weekend).
Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary is an association of the faithful of the Catholic Church who serve the Church on a voluntary basis. The main apostolate of the Legion consists in activities directed towards all men and women, young and old, rich and poor as well as marginalized people and towards non-Catholics. The members of the Legion are primarily engaged in the performance of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
Theresians
Theresians provide an opportunity for lay women in the church to come together in community to experience intellectual and spiritual enrichment. The name of the organization "Theresians" is inspired by St. Thérèse of Lisieux. With spirituality, education, community, vocation, and later ministry, serving as the essential components of each Theresian community, Theresians seek to offer its members an opportunity to grow as women of spirit and vision.
Christian Horizons
Christian Horizons lives out its mission through a variety of programs and services such as camping opportunities, homes and independent living programs.
Abraham Festival
The Abraham Festival is a gathering of people in the Peterborough area, Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Torah, the Bible and the Qur'an are our holy books. The group has been meeting in Peterborough for thirteen years in a spirit of learning, understanding and cooperation.