Members of Catholic Daughters celebrate centennial in Arkansas

For 100 years, Catholic Daughters of the Americas has helped Catholic women in Arkansas use their time and talents in the Church.  

CDA was started by the Knights of Columbus in 1903 in New York. One of the largest and oldest organizations in the Americas for Catholic women, it has grown in the U.S. in the 122 years since its founding, with 55,000 members in 1,150 local chapters, called courts. Today it is in 45 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. 

The Arkansas State Court of CDA celebrated its centennial with a convention April 4-6.

Connie Boutwell, state regent for the Arkansas state court and member of St. Joseph Church in Pine Bluff, has been an active member for nearly 20 years. 

“Like some other Catholic women, I first joined Catholic Daughters of the Americas when I first got married in 1969,” she said. “But, soon I thought I just didn’t have time for a women’s group at church. I worked in our family-owned business and had small children. … Fast forward to 2006, and I found myself divorced and looking for a way to increase my Catholic faith and become involved in my Church. Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court Our Lady of Victory was a wonderful beginning to do both of these.”

Boutwell began attending Our Lady of Victory court meetings at her parish. Just two months after rejoining the organization, one of the members asked if she would be their financial secretary. She said yes, and has been an officer at the local or state level for the past 19 years.

The roots of CDA in Arkansas date back to around 1920, when a group of Catholic women began meeting in Fort Smith. The group began to grow and spread to Pine Bluff in May 1922. These groups would officially become courts of Catholic Daughters in May 1925, when the Arkansas State Court was officially started. 

Ever since, CDA has worked to support projects throughout the Diocese of Little Rock and other charitable efforts and organizations. 

Catholic Daughters supports charitable efforts, including Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Relief Services, Missionaries of Charity, the Pontifical North American College and disaster relief efforts. 

On the local level, CDA is engaged in charitable efforts. 

“All our courts were quick to donate to National CDA Disaster Assistance for hurricanes such as Helena and Milton, and the fires in California,” Boutwell said. “And Arkansas received a donation from Catholic Daughters after the tornadoes in 2023. The March for Life is always supported by CDA. You will see the Catholic Daughters’ banners in the Little Rock March for Life, in other states and in Washington, D.C.”

The CDA also create opportunities for youth and young adults. The Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas (JCDA) is open to Catholic Daughters from 6 to 18 years old.

“There are scholarships for various grades, trunk or treats, Easter egg hunts and pizza parties…. They are sponsored by an adult court and have a three-fold program of message, service and community. A number of scholarships are offered from the national to the local level, whether it is for an eighth grader going into the ninth grade or someone college age or in graduate school.”

JCDA was established in the 1970s but largely fell out of use until efforts to revive it began during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It was early 2024 before the JCDA Court Daughters of Grace had their installation of officers in El Dorado under the guidance of Court Our Lady of the Holy Redeemer,” Boutwell said. “Now in Little Rock, Court Our Little Flower is working to establish a JCDA court, and in Hot Springs, Court Mother of Divine Mercy is hoping to establish a JCDA court in their area.”

From April 4-6, 47 members of Catholic Daughters of Arkansas made the journey to St. Theresa Church in Little Rock for the 50th biennial Arkansas State Convention. The convention theme was “Mary in Lent.” During the convention, a new state board was elected and members who had died since the last convention were remembered. 

“It was announced that our next convention in 2027 will be at the Mother of Divine Mercy court at St. John the Baptist Church in Hot Springs,” Boutwell said. 

Currently, there are five CDA courts in Arkansas, located in St. Theresa, Little Rock; St. Mary, North Little Rock; St. Joseph, Pine Bluff; Holy Redeemer, El Dorado; and St. John, Hot Springs. 

“Catholic women may belong to any of these five courts. If someone is interested in starting a new court in their area, that is possible too,” Boutwell said. 

Judi Ostergaard, a member of the Holy Redeemer court in El Dorado, said this year’s convention was “very uplifting.”

“We had wonderful keynote speakers from the Diocesan Task Force Against Human Trafficking and Pornography, Mark Ives and Linda Williams, who spoke and had a beautiful display, and we gathered a lot of information that we could take back to our court. We had the bishop there … and we got to meet with everybody — the ladies and the delegates — and we really had a great convention. … We had a beautiful banquet, and we elected our new officers on the state board. … Hope is our theme for the coming year … We’re looking forward to a great year, and we’re hoping to have more Catholic Daughters courts in the state. Our motto is unity and charity, and that’s what we want to spread.” 

CDA’s goals for this year are to emphasize both the Jubilee Year of Hope and the national regent’s theme, “Be a Beacon of Hope and a Light in the Darkness.” 

“We hope to increase our membership, which declined during the COVID pandemic. We hope to be that beacon of hope for our youth, for those less fortunate and those in need,” Boutwell said. 

For more information, visit catholicdaughters.org.