Chaplaincies in the Diocese of Lancaster
Universities, Schools and Colleges
Chaplaincy endeavours to be at the heart of University, College and Secondary School life providing a faith focus for the community life of students and staff and offering pastoral care and support. Catholic Chaplaincy has an inclusive mission and welcomes all students from many faith traditions and none as well as helping Catholics in their own spiritual and faith development.
All University and College Chaplaincy teams will be committed to providing friendship and hospitality to all. The aim is for greater involvement of all students in making a lasting contribution to the growth and development of community life at University, College and Secondary School and helping students and staff to grow in the life of faith.
The Association of Catholic Chaplains in Education
The Association of Catholic Chaplains in Education was founded in 1993 with the approval of the Bishops of England & Wales and the Catholic Education Service. It’s aims are:
- To support the spiritual, pastoral welfare and professional development of chaplains in schools and colleges.
- To promote the establishment and development chaplaincies in all schools and colleges
- To provide a channel of communication between chaplains and the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, it’s departments and agencies
- To network with other agencies working in education and with young people
The association organises an annual conference for members every June and CPD for new chaplains each October.
For more information see www.acceuk.org.uk or Twitter and Facebook at ACCEUK.
The current National Coordinator is Diana Polisano who can be contacted via the website. For all other enquiries please contact the ACCE administrator at julie.sweeney@nottingham-des.org.uk or phone 01332 293 833 Ext 202.
Hospitals/Nursing & Care Homes
Hospital chaplains offer a friendly face, a listening ear, a chance to talk through thoughts and concerns, prayer and Sacraments. Priest Chaplains and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion visit hospital wards during the week and provide “on call” service in case of emergency. It is very important that on admission to hospital you make sure that you tell the staff that you are a Roman Catholic, that they register this information on your patient records, and that you tell them you would like to be visited by a Roman Catholic Chaplain. In case of emergency, please inform nursing staff that you would like to see a Roman Catholic Priest, and they will “page” whichever priest is on duty. Catholic chaplains work collaboratively with both Christian and other Faith colleagues.
Prisons
Prison Chaplaincy is a response to the Gospel call, ‘I was in prison and you visited me.’ Every prison has a Catholic chaplain who provides Sacramental and pastoral care for both residents and staff. Chaplains work for the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of those in their care. Increasingly chaplains seek to provide links with outside communities so that people leaving prison will find support and encouragement. Chaplains seek to invite people to share in their ministry by training volunteers to become Prison Visitors. Again, Catholic chaplains work collaboratively with both Christian and other Faith colleagues.
Polish Catholics
The Polish Chaplaincy is a pastoral ministry of the diocese which includes first generation migrants, EU accession workers, temporary residents, visiting students and tourists. The chaplaincy’s aim at preserving the religio-cultural customs, traditions and values of migrants while at the same time preparing them for full integration into the local Church. The Polish Chaplaincy provide pastoral care across the Diocese including formation programmes and administration of the sacraments in the polish language.
The Apostleship of the Sea
The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) in England and Wales is part of an international network of AOS agencies working in 89 countries to support the people of the sea.