Blessed are the Poor

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“Blessed are the Poor” (Matthew 5:3) has been chosen by the national/executive board as the focus for the national theme, Ignite Your Passion, Empower His Mission. It encompasses a broad range of the poor—in spirit, of heart, in body—all in virtue, exemplifying Jesus’ mission of bringing good news to the poor.

Download suggestions for actions and events that represent each of the League’s three pillars: faith, service and social justice.

CWL Bursary for St. Mary's University

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Introducing the CWL Bursary for St Mary's University

At the 2026 CWL Diocesan Convention, we passed a motion to voluntarily contribute $20,000 to St. Mary’s University to create a self-funding bursary endowment by May 1, 2027. When matched by an anonymous donor, this will create a $1,600/year bursary for at least 10 years.

The bursary recipient will meet the following criteria:

be a continuing full-time female student at St. Mary’s University
demonstrate financial need
have a satisfactory grade point average of at least 2.0
be actively involved in service and/or social justice locally, nationally, or internationally

Preference will be given to students who are:

members of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada
enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts, Education, Social Justice and Catholic Studies – Catholic Studies Stream degree program
completing a minor or concentration in Catholic Studies
students who have successfully completed at least three senior Religious Studies (RLGS) courses at St. Mary’s University

We are asking councils and individuals to prayerfully consider contributing to this fundraising effort over the next year. Go to Double your impact now! to make an online donation. Donation cards were distributed at Convention; if you or your council need more, email Theresa and we will get them to you right away.

Quilt Raffle to support the StMU CWL Bursary Fund

In addition to the direct donations, we have been gifted two beautiful handmade quilts to raffle in support of our fundraising efforts. Tickets are $25 each, cheque and e-transfer payments preferred. Only 400 tickets were printed; they can be purchased / sold only in Alberta. Our new Service Chair, Melanie Spagrud, is spearheading this initiative.

We are asking each council to take a bundle of 10 tickets to sell within your council and community, if you are able. The draw will be held at the fall meeting in September, so you have plenty of time to sell them. Contact Melanie () for tickets, and all ticket-related inquiries. Contact Treasurer Ee Lynn Lee () for all payment-related inquiries.

Please return ticket stubs, as well as any unsold tickets to Melanie Spagrud by Sep 18, 2026.
If paying by cheque, make it payable to Calgary Diocesan CWL Council and include it with your ticket stubs and any unsold tickets.
If paying by e-transfer, send payments to .

Service Standing Committee

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Some ways in which local councils may engage in service:

Host events in support of parish (communion breakfasts, clergy appreciation lunches, senior evenings, funeral receptions).
Support/host/participate in events in service of the community (serving at food banks or soup kitchens, collecting winter clothing for shelters, visiting shut-ins, etc.).
Support national or international initiatives by, for example, sponsoring a person through an organization such as Chalice, participating in events held by groups such as Development and Peace, etc.
Develop/support services to help in the areas of homelessness, human trafficking, poverty, bullying, racism, etc.
Educate members about charitable needs in local, national and international communities through guest speakers.
Organize fundraisers for council initiatives.
Study and implement the action plans of related adopted resolutions.
Consider initiating a resolution on a topic of interest to the council (see Resolutions Handbook).

Source: 614 Handbook for Chairpersons 2022

Other resources from CWL.ca:

637 - Toolkit for Service