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The Allen Hall community visited Redemptoris Mater, the formation house of the men who are discerning priesthood through the Neocatechumenal way. We had a very warm welcome by the students and had an opportunity to catch up with them. After that we had a talk by Fr. Lorenzo, who told us about the history of […]

We celebrated the Solemnity of the Douai Martyrs on Saturday, 28th October. The Douai Martyrs were men who trained for the priesthood at Douai College (France) during the English Reformation and were executed when they returned to England for preaching the Catholic faith. In total, there are 158 martyrs between 1577 and 1680. The celebration […]

The funeral of Helena Duckett took place on Wednesday 25th October 2023 at Holy Rood Church, Watford. Archbishop Mark O’Toole (sometime Rector of Allen Hall) celebrated the Requiem Mass, joined by over fifty priests and the current staff and students of Allen Hall. We continue to give thanks to God for Helena’s friendship and years […]

Fr Javier led the first-year seminarians on a visit to the British Museum to see artefacts relating to the Bible as part of their introduction to biblical studies. The museum contains objects of interest from ancient Israel, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Rome, all of which help to bring the academic studies alive and remind us […]

On Sunday 8th October, the seminarians joined the people of the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden for a candlelit procession, followed by a sermon and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The month of October is particularly devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary and we invoke her intercession for peace in the world, for […]

On Saturday 30th September, the seminarians and priests visited the sisters of Notting Hill Carmel. We celebrated Mass, had lunch, prayed the rosary, listened to a talk on the history of the monastery, and then had time chatting to the sisters informally in their parlours. It was a great encouragement (on both sides) to hear […]

It is with great sorrow that Allen Hall mourns the loss of Helena Duckett (Domestic Bursar and Rector’s PA since 2004), who died on 27th September 2023. Helena was not only tireless in her work for the seminary, but a great friend and confidante to generations of staff and students. We pray for the repose […]

The 2023 edition of the seminary’s journal, Vivamus in Spe, has been published and is available here: The previous edition, from 2022, is also available:

The seminarians spent the weekend of 23rd and 24th September on retreat. The Spiritual Director gave talks on the meditative reading of Sacred Scripture (often called lectio divina in the Catholic tradition) and of contemplative union with God in the thought of St John of the Cross. There was plenty of time for individual prayer, […]

On Tuesday 19th September, several students from Allen Hall graduated as Bachelors of Sacred Theology (STB) from Mater Ecclesiae College (MEC) in the Chapel at St Mary’s Twickenham. They were joined by friends, family, seminarians, students and academics from the MEC, and the degrees were conferred by Cardinal Nichols, the Chancellor of the MEC. New […]