Founding

Prior to the founding of the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society, Catholic suffragettes had participated in other suffrage organizations, such as the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), the Women's Freedom League (WFL), and the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).^[5]

The roots of the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society began when young Catholic suffragettes Gabrielle Jeffery and May Kendall met on 8 December 1910, coincidentally the date of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Jeffery and Kendall met while waiting outside Holloway Prison to welcome the release of imprisoned suffragettes, a common practice for the WSPU in England at the time. Jeffery and Kendall developed the idea of creating a Catholic women's suffrage organization to bring together Catholics, male and female, to work towards women's suffrage.^[6] Together with seven other Catholic suffragists, they held their first meeting on 25 March 1911 and created the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society.^[6] Early members of the CWSS, in addition to Gabrielle Jeffery and May Kendall, included Beatrice Gadsby, Christine O’Connor, Smyth Pigott, Monica Whately, and Kathleen Fitzgerald, who was appointed first chairman of the Society. The purpose of the Society was “to band together Catholics of both sexes, in order to secure the Parliamentary vote on the same terms as it is, or may be granted to men."^[6]

The Catholic Women's Suffrage Society chose for its colors blue, gold, and white: blue representing Mary the mother of Christ, and gold and white in reference to the papacy of the Catholic church.^[7][6] In addition, the CWSS chose Joan of Arc as their patron.^[4]

While the CWSS was founded in London, additional branches were later created throughout United Kingdom. The first branch outside of London was founded in 1911 in Hastings in East Sussex. In the next several years, other branches sprung up in Liverpool, Brighton, Plymouth, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham, Wakefield, Oxford, and Oldham, as well as some Scottish branches.^[6]

Catholicism and Women's Suffrage

The CWSS sought to promote and improve the perception of women's suffrage among Catholics in England. Catholic opinion on women's suffrage was mixed, among both clergy and laypeople. Early on, the Society sought the approval of prominent Catholic clergy, and also worked with other Catholic organizations.  For example, in December 1911, the CWSS wrote to prominent members of the Catholic clergy, including the Archbishop of Westminster, asking them to consider the social, moral, and religious importance of extending the right to vote to women.^[5] Also, starting in 1911, the CWSS started sending representatives to the National Catholic Congress.^[4]

The CWSS also worked to challenge anti-suffrage sentiments among Catholic clergy. The Reverend Henry Day, for example, opposed women's suffrage and denied the equality of men and women, and was often quoted in the press. In response, the members of the CWSS gathered and passed out CWSS leaflets outside the churches where he preached in Manchester and Liverpool, and also denounced Day's words by writing to the press.^[5]

Activities

Soon after its founding, the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society quickly began participating in the women's suffrage movement. On 17 June 1911 the CWSS joined with other women's suffrage organizations in the Women's Coronation Procession. Around eighty members of the CWSS participated in the procession, many representing Catholic societies and wearing religious medals and ribbons.^[5] In 1912, the CWSS joined a demonstration of religious suffrage organizations in a demonstration at Trafalgar Square.^[4]

The CWSS, like other suffrage organizations, adopted a stance on militancy, a controversial and divisive issue for many suffragists. The Society decided to be non-partisan and non-militant, focusing instead on constitutional methods.^[5] Militant members were allowed to join, on the condition that their militant actions did not represent the CWSS.^[5] While the Society itself remained committed to non-militant actions, they refused to denounce militant suffragettes, and in fact condemned the mistreatment of imprisoned suffragettes, especially the practice of force-feeding suffragettes on hunger strike.^[4]

Unlike some groups that suspended their direct efforts at suffrage during World War I, the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society continued to work towards women's suffrage in England. The CWSS's Annual Report in 1914 states, “it rests with us to see that the position of women is not worse after the war than it was before.”^[5] Beginning in 1915, the CWSS created its own journal, the Catholic Suffragist, first edited by Leonora de Alberti, which openly promoted women's suffrage and equal rights.^[5][4]

Post World War I

In 1918, the Representation of the People Act granted suffrage to British women over the age of thirty.^[5] In celebration, the CWSS organized a Mass of Thanksgiving at Westminster Cathedral on 17 February 1918.^[5][6] Catholic and non-Catholic suffragists attended, including Millicent Fawcett and Margaret Nevinson.^[5] However, while they celebrated the partial suffrage victory, the CWSS continued to work towards full suffrage for all women, and for women's rights in general. This included issues such as women's representation in national organizations, equal pay for men and women's work, and women holding political office. The CWSS also changed the name of its journal from the Catholic Suffragist to the Catholic Citizen.^[5]

The CWSS also began to focus on international organizations and issues, such as international women's suffrage and international Catholicism. In 1920, the CWSS sent delegates to the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in Switzerland.^[5] Later that same year, the CWSS met with American and international suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt, who stated, “practically the whole world had been won to suffrage with the exception of the Latin Catholic countries,” and encouraged the members to help Catholic women all over the world.^[5]