Welcome to the Catenians

Bishop Louis Charles Casartelli who inspired the creation of the Catenian Association

How did we start?

The Catenians were established in Manchester in 1908 at the behest of Louis Casartelli, the then Bishop of Salford. For the first two years the Catenians were known as “The Chums Benevolent Association, and its original and essential characteristics were typical of many male societies established in the period before the First World War.

Bishop Casartelli was one of a number of Bishops who were anxious to see Catholic communities break the bonds of restricted education, low social status, and limited political power and influence. They acknowledged that the Chums, and later the Catenians, were a force for good and a vehicle for action.

The name Catenians derives from Catena, the Latin word for Chain. Each member is seen as a link upon which the strength of the whole chain depends.

The Association spread rapidly across the UK but did not become established offshore for almost 50 years. Since then development followed largely on colonial lines. Overseas growth in recent years has been rapid. We now have more than 10,000 members in Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Ireland, Malta and The Holy Land as well as the UK.

Fleet Catenians Circle 256 - When did we start?

Fleet Circle was the brainchild of the Late Past Grand President Sidney Quick who had already given a lifetime of service to the Association, having joined the Association in 1935. Sidney lived in Fleet in the 1960’s, a time when Fleet was rapidly expanding in population numbers. He saw that many of the catholic men in the local parish were upwardly mobile professionals and therefore likely to constitute a promising pool of men who could be attracted to joining the Association.

Accordingly, on Thursday 24th April 1969, a group of local Catholic business men that included current Fleet parishioner John McCormick and current Circle Brother John Pearson, met for the first time at the Lismoyne Hotel in Fleet, at the invitation of Brother Sidney, to discuss the possibility of forming a Catenian Circle in Fleet. Bro. John Pearson did not, at that time, pursue his interest in joining the Catenians, mainly for business reasons. However, several fellow parishioners of Our Lady’s, Fleet and Holy Trinity, Church Crookham, continued to meet from time to time to pursue the objective of creating a Fleet Circle. Included in this number were John McCormick, John Chadwick (our only living founder member still a Catenian), Eric Holden, Paddy McEvoy, Peter Moore, Laurie Sparke, Hugh Sykes, David Walker, Dick Widgery, Paul Woodford and Gerry Worte, all of whom became founder members of the Circle.

On the 26th July 1978 the Circle celebrated its 100th meeting at the Officers’ Club, Aldershot, under the presidency of Brother John Pearson and in the presence of 21 Circle brothers and 66 visiting brothers that included Grand President Patrick Stevens. Sadly, Brother Sidney Quick had become seriously ill by that time and was too unwell to join in the celebrations. The brothers of Fleet Circle and countless other brothers were shortly to mourn his death.

Summary of Key Dates

24th April 1969

Past Grand President Sidney Quick holds the first of several meetings with local catholic men to discuss and explain the possible formation of a Catenian Circle in Fleet.

21st April 1970

Fleet Circle inaugurated with 24 Circle members. These included Brother John Chadwick of Shrewsbury Circle, the only living founder member still a Catenian. Bro. Sidney Quick installed as the Circle’s Founder President.

1973

Brothers David Hopkin & John Pearson, longest serving living members of Fleet Circle, enrolled. Circle was then meeting at the Frimley Hall Hotel, Camberley.

1976-78

Circle was meeting at the Swan Hotel, Hartley Wintney.

April 1978

Circle started meeting at the Officers’ Club, Aldershot. Not a dining Circle yet.

26^th July 1978

Fleet Circle’s 100^th meeting at the Officers’ Club, Aldershot, in the presence of Grand President Patrick Stevens. Bro. John Pearson presiding.

1970-79

Fleet, deemed a small circle, with membership remaining under 30.

1980-89

Circle membership grew, reaching a peak of 45 members in 1988.

26^th Nov. 1986

Fleet Circle’s 200^th meeting at the Royal Aldershot Officers’ Club, in the presence of Past Grand President Terry McGrath and Bishop Emery. Bro. Michael Gregory presiding.

1990-1999

Circle membership settled to between 35 and 42.

1992

Circle moved to its present meeting place, the Lismoyne Hotel, Fleet and decided to become a dining circle.

21^st April 1995

Fleet Circle’s 300^th meeting at the Lismoyne Hotel, Fleet, in the presence of Grand Vice President John Fry. Bro. Martin Ingram presiding.

2000 to 2012

Circle membership maintained within the range 32 to 37.

10^th Sept. 2003

Fleet Circle’s 400^th meeting at the Lismoyne Hotel, Fleet, in the presence of Grand President Gerald Soane. Bro. Ray Swinburne presiding.

21^st Nov. 2012

Fleet Circle’s 500^th meeting at Farnborough Hill School, in the presence of Grand President John Mottram. Bro. Ray Swinburne presiding.

These notes have been drafted by John Pearson based on copies of Fleet Catenian Circle records.

Meet the team. Fleet Catenian Council members in 2019. From left to right we have, Mike Mitchell, John Ramsay, Martyn Flanagan, Jesse James, John Pearson, Ray Swinburne, Terry Clements, Bob Brown, Phil McCluskey is taking the picture.

A warm welcome to our new website from our President

I joined Fleet Circle in 2011. I was working as a Product Manager at the time and a parishioner of Holy Trinity Church in Church Crookham. I had heard of the Catenian Association but didn’t really know who they were or what they did. I was asked one Sunday at Mass if I would be interested in meeting a few members for lunch. I joined soon after that invitation and have never regretted it. I now belong to an international association of Catholic men where faith, friendship and family are the key attributes and where we look out for each other in a supportive and encouraging way. Fun is another key attribute of the association. We meet for social occasions and enjoy a shared friendship, a characteristic to be recommended. We meet monthly at the Lismoyne Hotel in Fleet and dine after. Whilst we are men’s association, our wives are encouraged to be involved with the social activities of both the Circle and the wider organisation.

We are always looking for new members to join the Catenian Association from Catholic men within the Fleet/Farnborough/Aldershot/Farnham/Hartley Wintney/Yateley area to bring a fresh look and new ideas our Circle and to refresh our current membership.

We are great advocates of charitable activities and fund raising. Every year the Circle President chooses a charity for the Circle to support. My chosen charity this year is the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association (DEBRA UK). Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a group of genetic skin conditions that cause the skin to blister and tear at the slightest touch.

We are also great supporters of the Catenian Bursary Fund which supports students financially particularly those embarking on Pilgrimages and/or support work in disadvantaged countries.

Thank you for visiting our new website. If you want to know more about joining us, please look at our membership section.

Martyn Flanagan

President of Fleet Circle 256