90th Anniversary - Our Lady of Lourdes, Newcastle
Joselyn Taylor attended the celebrations on behalf of the CDA after receiving a formal invite from Megan Nottingham, the centre manager. This was held on Friday 7th November 2025 to mark the occasion of the Deaf Community and the St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) working together since 1930.
Bishop Stephen Wright was appointed the 15th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle on 14 June 2023, and Fr. Robert Kinlen has been the Chaplain for the Deaf Community for over 30 years. He celebrates Mass in BSL.
Bishop Stephen Wright and Fr. Robert Kinlen celebrated Mass together with Diane Murphy doing the reading. The Mass was held in the Chapel at Our Lady of Lourdes Deaf Centre, Newcastle. It was well attended by members of SVP’s and members of the Deaf Community.
After Mass, the Bishop unveiled a plaque that is on the wall in the Chapel to commemorate the celebrations that took place. Afterwards, a buffet reception was held in the Deaf Club.
Photos on the right: credence table made and carved by a Deaf man, George ‘Russell’ Starford (1938-2023)
CDA Conference 2025
The weekend ‘Jubilee of Hope’ was truly inspiring and spiritually uplifting. Fr Eamon Mulachy is an amazing priest. We are pilgrims of hope. Many thanks to all the wonderful, hard-working participants who made the weekend such an enjoyable experience.
Mary Duggan
From Friday 10th to Sunday 12th October, we attended the Catholic Deaf Association Conference at Hinsley Hall in Leeds. The weekend included a wonderful group of Irish Deaf attendees who flew in from Ireland, accompanied by their own Irish Sign Language interpreter. We enjoyed socialising with one another, relaxing in our comfortable rooms, and indulging in the delicious meals—especially the tempting cheesecakes! On Saturday, Fr Eamonn Mulcahy, a Spiritan priest, delivered a full day of spiritual, exhilarating, and electrifying talks on the theme Pilgrims of Hope. Having flown in from Rome, he shared his joy at standing beside Pope Leo and revealed that the Pope is working on a new book. Later that afternoon, Fr Paul Fletcher celebrated Mass in the beautiful chapel, assisted by fellow priests. The chapel’s wooden vaulted ceiling added to the sense of reverence and awe. In the evening, Joselyn, the CDA Chairperson, hosted a lively auction to raise funds for the Catholic Deaf Association—bringing fun and generosity together to close the day.
Martin Schwarzacher
Overall, it was a positive experience. I would give it 4 stars out of 5. It was lovely to have a bit of greenery at the front, and again, to look out of my bedroom window onto the green centre court. The room was airy, with plenty of space to move about. The corridors and staircase were roomy enough to pass people without bumping into them! The en suite was surprisingly large for a single bedroom. The conference room and chapel were conveniently located on the same site. The missing star was mainly due to a few issues — including finding hairs on my food plate and the overly chunky broccoli. However, I must stress that I enjoyed the food and the overall dining experience. Despite the missing star, I would be happy for CDA to book there for any future events!
Christopher Broadbent
As a hearing member of the CDA, I wish to thank all those responsible for any part of the organisation. My discussion group with Fr Paul and Denise included both Deaf and hearing participants, and we received responses from everyone. For me, this was symbolic of synodality — being together and listening to one another. Synodality is so meaningful, and I am reminded of the amazing work of the Holy Spirit in guiding the organisers to choose the dates, as explained by Father Eamonn!
Kath Holt
Thank you for your teamwork in making this event a success, and thanks to Fr Eamonn and the interpreters for their hard work. It was especially pleasing to see Sr Maria McCready being awarded Honorary President of the CDA for life! She truly deserved it for her many years of dedicated service to Deaf people. This event also reminded us how important HOPE is in strengthening our unity within CDA UK. May it continue to flourish, inviting new members to join and enjoy friendship, support and togetherness.
Name supplied
I was blessed to have been able to attend the recent CDA Jubilee Conference in Leeds. The last one I attended was in Brighton in 2016, so it was lovely to see friends and colleagues face to face once again.
We began Saturday morning with a presentation by Fr Eamonn Mulcahy. The theme of ‘Pilgrim of Hope’ led to a meaningful and deep discussion: ‘What is hope? What does the word mean to you?’ We then went into groups to explore this further and to reflect on how we can witness ‘your hope in your heart.’ The session was very powerful and interesting — we see and use the word hope often, but when you start to discuss it, you realise it can mean so many different things to different people.
At Mass in the evening, Sr Maria McCready was presented with gifts for having served the Deaf community for well over 50 years. This was followed by a lovely evening meal and a chance to catch up with friends, both old and new.
Sunday morning’s session, led by Fr Paul Fletcher (SJ) and Peter McDonough, guided us through a reflection on pilgrimage.
I really enjoyed the weekend and found all our discussions deeply interesting. I left feeling hopeful.
Damien Mahon
Photo (1): of Daughter of Charity Sisters (from left to right) Sr Elizabeth Ferrie; Sr Maria Robb; Sr Theresa Tighe; Sr Ruth O’Neil. Sr Marie Raw was at the Reunion but not in the photo.
Photo (2): Peter McDonough and Fr Paul Fletcher SJ
Photo (3): Congratulations to Wendy Daunt, a former pupil of St John’s, Boston Spa, who recently received an OBE from Prince William, alongside Sr Theresa Tighe.
Photo (4): Mass was held at St Edward the Confessor, Clifford, on Sunday 29th June 2025, thanking God for the 150th anniversary of St John’s School for the Deaf, Boston Spa.
Photo (5): Fr Paul Fletcher SJ preaching on the feast of St Peter and St Paul.
Photo (6): Mass presided over by Bishop Marcus Stock (bishop of Leeds) and concelebrated by Fr Sean Molly (parish priest), another priest who was former parish priest, Fr David Murray and Fr Paul Fletcher SJ.
The CDA pilgrimages must have been started back in the 1970s so this year’s annual pilgrimage should be over 50 years since there were  read more
Written by Ian Urquhart
Our itinerary for the CDA pilgrimage was originally arranged weeks before we went but unfortunately Pope died early morning read more
Written by Ian Urquhart
Five people received Visual Faith certificates from Fr Paul Daly of St Joseph’s, Manchester
On 5th April 2025, 48 people attended the one-day conference at Blackpool. The presentation – ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ – was led by Fr Paul Fletcher SJ and Peter McDonough
Congratulations to Yasser McAndrew who was confirmed by Bishop Paul McAleenan
Congratulations to David Cartner who was confirmed.
The CCRS Reunion was held in Walsingham from Wednesday May 15th to Sunday May 19th 2024. The CCRS graduates travelled to read more
On 23rd November 2023, on the ocassion of his 43rd anniversary of the Priesthood, Fr Robert Kinlen, Chaplain to Deaf people in Hexam & Newcastle diocese, celebrated a ‘thanksgiving celebration’ with the Deaf and SVP communities. The Mass took place at the SVP Newcastle Deaf Centre (Our Lady of Lourdes).
Fr Paul Fletcher SJ, Angela Davies and Joselyn Taylor were in Lourdes, July 2023. Here is a short video vlog – click on the image to view the video. The person they were with and who lit the candle is Vincent Bayoumeu. He is St Bernadette’s 5th great-nephew and he is Deaf himself.
Whiles in Lourdes, Bishop Moth (Bishop of Arundel & Brighton) presented Maria and Peter Booker with St Philip Howard medals for their significant contribution and service to Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing people, in their diocese to create awareness of the existence and needs of Deaf/Hard of Hearing people, both in the Church and in Society. Maria and Peter Booker were completely surprised. Congratulations to Maria and Peter! Well done, you both deserve the awards and the Deaf community is proud of you.
