TDCCW is an Organization of 131 autonomous parish organizations for Catholic women in the Diocese of Toledo. These affiliates number about 110,000 Catholic women in the diocese. The TDCCW is the official diocesan organization for lay women.

The Council represents nineteen counties in Northwest Ohio, which comprises the Toledo Diocese under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Toledo.

The Toledo Diocesan Council of Catholic Women was organized on April 11 and 12, 1928, at a convention formed for that purpose.

1. To unite Catholic women’s organizations and individual Catholic women of the diocese, to develop their spiritual growth, to motivate and assist them to act upon current issues in the Church and society.

2. To be a medium through which the Catholic women of the diocese may speak and act on matters of common concern.

3. To be a representative Catholic women’s body in relating to other organizations and diocesan agencies dealing with current concerns.

4. To promote the spiritual and material undertakings recommended by the Bishop, and to work as a part of the National Council in the interests of the U.S. Catholic Conference.

CHURCH—To create a community of God’s people that is educated and dynamic. Programs: Evangelization; Spiritual Ecumenism; Retreats and Days of Renewal.

FAMILY CONCERNS—To assist families in achieving Christian principles in these areas that pertain to the welfare of all families. Programs: Working with the Diocesan Family Life Office; Chemical and Substance Abuse; Celebration of Anniversaries; Pro-Life.

COMMUNITY CONCERNS—To involve people in working to anser the needs of their communities. Programs: Media and Pornography; Rural Life; Friendly Visitor.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERNS—To awaken in all a conviction of their responsibility to international society and to create through conviction a sense of unity with all people. Programs: Works of Peace, working in conjunction with Catholic Relief Services.

LEGISLATION—To help women as individuals and groups to be more effective politically by helping them understand the legislative process, share in it, and to understand issues so they can take adequate action when necessary. The Church has a proper role and responsibility in public concerns flowing from the Gospel mandate and its respect for the dignity of the human person.

To serve all aspects of organizational structure and to promote Council training in organizational skills.

These Commissions correspond to the fields of actions for apostolic activities outlined in Chapter III of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity.

National Council of
Catholic Women

The National Council of Catholic Women is the nationwide Council for Catholic Women and their organizations operating as a federation. It was founded by two hundred concerned women in 1920 at the call of the Bishops of the United States.

NCCW is affiliated with local, parish, diocesan, and state organizations. It is a national organization with vast individual membership. It is Archdiocesan and Diocesan Councils of Catholic Women spanning the United States. NCCW is the representative voice of millions of women; it is millions of concerned women working together through national program commissions, which reflect current issues in the Church and society.

NCCW is affiliated with: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops; the Unites States Catholic Conference; World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations; and National Government Organizations of United Nations.

NCCW is a founding member of Women in Community Service uniting NCCW with the National Council of Negro Women, National Organization of Jewish Women, Church Women United, and the GI Forum Auxiliary. NCCW provides an outreach network for more than eight thousand women’s groups in 118 dioceses with a total membership in the millions.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio was organized in 1945 by the late Archbishop John McNichols of Cincinnati. It is the second oldest State Bishops’ Conference in the United States (New York was the first). Originally known as the Ohio Catholic Welfare Conference, the name was changed by the Bishops of Ohio in 1967 to the Catholic Conference of Ohio.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio is the forum for the Bishops of Ohio to serve the Church, the state and people of Ohio by participating in the planning, promotion, conduct and supervision of activities which are sponsored by the Catholic Church in areas of community relationships. Of particular concern are areas of education, health and social issues and administrative services.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio represents the point of view of the Church on questions affecting the Church and public interests.