The Cambridge Catholic Chaplaincy has received an unprecedented donation of £2C000 from Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pope’s gift is intended to contribute to the £2,000 Fisher appeal, which aims to establish an enduring foundation for the Chaplaincy. The Chaplaincy currently receives no university funding and very little from the Church.

Staff and members of the Chaplaincy expressed their surprise on receiving the donation. Fr Alban McCoy the Chaplain told Varsity, “It’s remarkable”. “We’re overwhelmed. The donation came completely out of the blue”, he said.

The University, a largely Anglican institution, has only one Roman Catholic College, St. Edmund’s. On being asked by Varsity how the dominance of Anglicanism affected the Chaplaincy’s work, Fr Alban said, “The Chaplaincy's ministry is made easier by the presence of Anglican Deans of chapel and Chaplains. We have warm relations with almost all and they are helpful in pointing Catholic members of their colleges in our direction. We also have Masses in all colleges except one [Jesus] and are warmly welcomed in all.”

The Chaplaincy serves the pastoral needs of senior and junior Catholic members of the University, providing a bar, library, chapel and meeting place for its members. It sees itself as an academic resource, offering an extensive list of talks and events from “Catholicism for the Curious” to the annual Fisher Lectures, at which the Pope himself spoke in 1989. On average, 450 students from across the colleges attend services on Sunday.

Set up in 1895 by a Papal indult, the Catholic Chaplaincy is the result of a change in the law, which obliged the University to accept Jews and non-conformists as well as Roman Catholics.

Including the pope’s donation, the appeal has currently consolidated £880,000. Its aim is to ensure the continuation of the Chaplaincy for the next 113 years.

Justin Hutcherson