About the Lecture

The Sir Harold Hood Memorial Lecture is held most years by Pact as an opportunity to celebrate the life and memory of a great friend and champion, the late Sir Harold Hood. The lecture seeks to contribute to public knowledge and understanding of how we as a society can make our prisons places in which individuals can achieve personal change and growth, and leave to live good lives, in stable and healthy relationships with family and the wider community.

Previous Lectures

Previous lectures have been given by (click on the hyperlink to view their transcripts): 

Archbishop (now Cardinal) Vincent Nichols

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor

Bishop Richard Moth

Dr Galena Rhoades (transcript not available) 

Lucia do Rosario-Neil

Sister Gemma Simmonds CJ.

About Sir Harold Hood

Sir Harold Hood, 2nd Baronet (23 January 1916 – 5 September 2005) was a devout CatholicChristian who worked in Catholic publishing for much of his life, including working on the Catholic Herald and The Universe newspapers. He was a generous philanthropist with a keen interest in prison reform and prisoner rehabilitation, and was personally involved with many charities including Pact (Prison Advice and Care Trust). Sir Harold Hood was a Knight of Malta and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. He died aged 89. His family have continued to support the work of Pact and a number of other charities through the charitable trust founded in his name.

Upcoming Events

This year, our Sir Harold Memorial Lecture will be held on 11th April 2019 at The Old Bailey in London. You can find more details about the event here. To keep up to date with upcoming lectures keep an eye on our Events page!