UNITY & CHARITY
SOUTH DAKOTA
CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS
OF THE AMERICAS
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas is
one of the oldest and largest
Catholic women’s organizations in the Americas.
ABOUT US
Who Are The Catholic Daughters?
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas is one of the oldest and largest organizations of Catholic women in the Americas. They donate to charities, administer scholarship programs, and strive “to be helping hands where there is pain, poverty, sorrow, or sickness.”
The CDA MOTTO is:
“Unity and Charity.”
The CDA was formed over 100 years ago, and today there are over 53,000 members in 1,050 courts (local chapters) in 45 US states and Puerto Rico, Guam, and Mexico. Catholic Daughters work hard for their parishes and communities. Deeply spiritual, together they share faith, love of God, and a distinctly feminine spirituality alluded to by Pope John Paul II when he spoke of the necessity of “feminine genius” in today’s world.
Catholic Daughters address the concerns of today’s church and society, as well as issues that affect the well-being of women and children. The programs cover a vast scope of activities beginning at the parish level and expanding into concerns of today's church and society.
PROGRAMS include:
Girls and young women ages 6-18 can join the Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas.
Young college women can become members of Campus Courts at some universities.
The PURPOSE of CDA:
"Spirituality & Service" is the heart and soul foundation of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas.
CDA gives members a unique opportunity to share their faith with other Catholic women. Members work to develop their God-given talents in meaningful ways that positively influence the welfare of the Church, and all people throughout the world.
The CDA MISSION:
"Catholic Daughters of the Americas strives to embrace
the principle of faith working through love in the promotion
of justice, equality, and the advancement of human rights and human dignity for all.”
Regular meetings of the local courts are held once a month, with a minimum of 10 meetings a year.
We encourage all Catholic women 18 years and older to join the Catholic Daughters of the Americas.
OUR PURPOSE
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas (CDA) was founded in Utica, New York on June 18, 1903.
John E. Carberry, at that time, Grand Knight of Utica Council #189 took the initiative with several other Knights of Columbus to charter the organization as a charitable, benevolent, and patriotic sorority for Catholic ladies. It was originally called the "National Order of Daughters of Isabella." The founding National Officers and Board of Directors felt that this was "laying the foundation for a Society which promises so much for the Catholic Womanhood of our beloved country." Within the first five years, CDA had 90 courts, and had grown from a membership of less than 100 to more than 10,000 in 69 cities in 18 different states.
The organization changed its name to "Catholic Daughters of America" in 1921 to better reflect the nature of the organization. In 1978 the official name of the organization changed once more to Catholic Daughters of the Americas because by that time the organization had grown beyond the United States to Canada and Latin America.
OUR HISTORY
