The Pope’s blessing for the people of Jarrow as he praised their ‘courage’ and ‘Christian spirit’
‘Great misery and mental anguish’
Just when you thought that interest in Jarrow had faded, it went straight back into the headlines weeks after the 1936 crusade.
Pope Pius XI sent a heartfelt message to the South Tyneside town after hearing of its suffering and it made front page Shields Gazette news.
Two hundred men from Jarrow marched to London to protest about their right to work. As the 300-mile trek got further down the country, interest in the marchers and their plight rocketed.
They returned home as heroes having raised awareness of the lack of jobs in South Tyneside.
Word eventually reached the Pope who sent a message to the North East through Dr. Arthur Hinsley, the Archbishop of Westminster, who spoke in Newcastle City Hall.
He read: “Icome not empty-handed from Rome, but with a precious message from our Holy Father. In it you see how wide and deep are the Pope's sympathies, his interest is centred on the most needy of his children, the poor and the workers.”
The congregation was stood while the rest of the letter was read to them.
“It is with deep satisfaction that the Holy Father learned of the earnest efforts towards social reconstruction which are being made by the Catholic people of Newcastle and the whole diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
“His heart has been saddened by the distressing conditions of the workers in the special areas such as Jarrow and other places where, due to the general crisis, large numbers of men have been unable to obtain honourable employment and have had suffer great misery and mental anguish. The courage with which these men and their families have faced it is due above all to their deeply Christian spirit.”
Within days, another story appeared in the Shields Gazette which raised hopes of a brighter future for Jarrow.
It said: “Jarrow’s depression clouds are lifting. It should soon pass a turning point in its history of depression. A gradual influx of industry into the town is expected which in a year or two should enable the people to once again claim a measure of prosperity.”
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