St Catharine's welcomes students, Fellows and staff of all faiths and none, and as the Chaplain I am here to support you in your faith, whatever your tradition and wherever you are in your life of faith. I hope you will find the information below helpful as you navigate living faithfully in Cambridge, or as you explore questions of faith or doubt, spirituality, and life generally.
Revd Ally Barrett
Chaplain & Dean of Chapel
The Chapel
Although the College Chapel is a Christian place of worship, the Chapel is for everyone, and in addition to all the concerts and events that take place there, please do be reassured that all are welcome to go in and spend some time in peace and quiet. You can access the chapel (step free) from the corridor by the garden room, using your camcard, and you are also welcome to use the old big doors in Main Court (which do involve steps). There are two small internal steps between the antechapel and the chapel, for which we are actively seeking a solution. There are blankets to make your time in Chapel more comfortable, and a supply of 'feel good' painted pebbles (do take one for yourself or a friend) as well as a small library of resources.
Multifaith Prayer Room
St Catharine's has a new multifaith prayer room, which is available to all members of the College community, of any faith or none, and their accompanied guests. It is located on the second floor of the central College buildilng that also houses the Chapel and the Dining Hall, and is accessible via the stairs or lift. You will need your camcard to access the corridor on which the room is located, and the prayer room itself. Staff wishing to use the room will need to ask the porters to add access to their cards. Students should find that access is automatically enabled, but do ask the porters if your card doesn't work on either of the doors.
More about the Multifaith Prayer Room
How to access and use the room
Support in your faith & places of worship
The new Faith in Cambridge document provides information about places and organisations for a number of different faiths, in College, in the University and around Cambridge.
There are so many places of worship in Cambridge, especially when it comes to Christian churches, that it can be hard to know where to start. Please contact the Chaplain for suggestions and advice if you don't find what you're looking for above (especially if your denomination or faith tradition isn't on the list), or if you want to know more about whether a particular place of worship is LGBTQ+ affirming.
Similarly, if you would like any additional information to be added to this page or to the Faith in Cambridge document, please contact the Chaplain.
Interfaith engagement in Higher Education
A new report, Building student relationships across religion and worldview difference, from IDEALS UK (a major research programme at Durham and Coventry Universities) highlights a range of ways in which Universities can encourage better interfaith engagement, and support students of all faith traditions. The report is co-authored by Catz alumna Dr Lucy Peacock.
