Utahns elected to National Council of Catholic Women

Courtesy photo/Pat Voorhes

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis is shown last August joining Utah Catholics Pat Voorhes and Amy Kennedy at their installation to the board of the National Council of Catholic Women. Voorhes is pictured front row, third from left. Kennedy is at the far back right.

SALT LAKE CITY — Becoming the president of a national organization during a pandemic might be intimidating for some, but National Council of Catholic Women President Pat Voorhes and her board have taken the challenge in stride.

“We found ways to make it work; we became very proficient in Zoom,” said Voorhes, a St. Vincent de Paul parishioner. “All of us are having meetings on Zoom; we’re becoming quite good at it.”

Voorhes’ two-year term began Aug. 28, 2021. After she was installed, Bishop Oscar A. Solis concelebrated the Mass in Arlington, Va., for her installation. In the same ceremony, Amy Kennedy, a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, was installed as NCCW secretary.

Voorhes said she was profoundly honored that the bishop would fly all the way to Virginia to be part of the installation Mass. “I can’t thank him enough,” she said.

Voorhes has been a member of the Council of Catholic Women for more than 40 years. She joined in 1981 after moving to Utah from California. She has served in many leadership positions at both the local and national levels, including as president of her parish council, founder and president of the CCW Wasatch Deanery, and as president of the diocesan council. At the national level, she has served as church commissioner, national secretary, trainer, family commission chair and San Francisco province director.

Being able to work on the national board alongside Kennedy is “the best part,” Voorhes said.  “It’s so good serving with Amy. It’s very nice to have the secretary that is so very involved with the reporting process living in the same city with you. We work very well and closely together.”

During her term, Voorhes is working to promote the NCCW’s current theme, “NCCW: Wide Open Hearts Abiding in Faith Hope and Love.” This theme is based on Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti and the USCCB pastoral letter Open Wide Our Hearts. Voorhes’ articles in the NCCW’s quarterly magazine The Catholic Woman are based on the themes of Pope Francis’ encyclical. She hopes to expand upon this theme for the second year of her presidency.

“I really do love that document,” Voorhes said.

As president, Voorhes oversees all NCCW provinces, dioceses and members and the spirituality, leadership and service commissions, along with the day-to-day running of the organization. She estimates she spends a minimum of six hours per week on these responsibilities.

“I do like it; I’m very happy I’m president,” she said.

Service is just part of who she is, she added. “For me, living in Utah, it’s very important that we are active Catholics. It’s important for my family that I am active in my faith to show them the way. I believe in the mission of NCCW: to educate all Catholic women in Gospel values.”

She encourages other Catholic women to get involved in CCW.

“It’s important that we are active; especially living here in Utah we are the face, the feet and the hands of Christ here,” she said. “We need to show our neighbors love and service and kindness. You learn all that when you do service and you’re involved with your CCW.”

Kennedy also has been very active in all aspects of NCCW, beginning with her parish affiliate CCW, where she held all the offices, and continuing through the state DCCW and on to the national council. She became involved shortly after she became a Catholic in 2000 and has continued since then.

“I fell in love with the organization and how they serve our Church and society,” she said.

Kennedy recently completed a term as president of the Associates of NCCW, which raises funds for grants for NCCW projects.  A practicing attorney, Kennedy said finding time to serve is a matter of managing her calendar and having a good work/life balance.

“I’m definitely not a believer when people say, ‘Oh, I’m too busy’ or ‘I’ll get involved with this when I retire,’” she said. “You can always find the time. It’s so uplifting, and I’ve learned so much through my work with the NCCW at every level that has made me a better person and a better attorney. I would encourage anyone, whatever their station in life, to become involved.”

“It really felt like a calling and then with a lot of other people seeing that potential in me and encouragement,” Kennedy said of her service in the organization. “I’ve always been surrounded by encouraging mentors who supported me on my journey on the national level.”

“It is so wonderful serving with Pat,” Kennedy said. Voorhes has always been there for Kennedy, even volunteering as Kennedy’s secretary during her term as DCCW president when the previous secretary was no longer able to serve.

“I think it’s so wonderful that I get to return the favor and be her secretary now that she is our national president,” she said.

The service of these two women is a blessing to Utah Catholic women, DCCW President Becky Colombo said.

“To have Pat as national president and Amy serve as her secretary is awesome,” she said. “You couldn’t pick any better women to serve. It’s just so impressive. We’re so lucky.”