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a good priest isalways a miracleof Grace Hans Urs von Balthasar We congratulate Farvin Gonsalves – Diocese of Portsmouth and Julian Pinto – Diocese of Plymouth having been awarded the Ministry of Lector The first lector was Jesus. He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and He reads: ”The spirit of the Lord […]

On 14th February 2026, Bishop Richard Moth was installed as the 12th Archbishop of Westminster. His previous appointments have been marked not only by a desire to build up the church, but also an emphasis on pastoral outreach and social justice, themes that resonant with the priorities articulated by Pope Leo XIV. His appointment comes at […]

How do I know if God is calling me to a particular vocation? God calls everyone, some to a specific mission, personally designed for them. “‘Each in his or her own way,’ We should not grow discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but that […]

1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: What do seminarians study? How do they spend their free time? How do they prepare for priesthood before ordination? Interested in learning more about the life of a seminarian? Portsmouth Diocese seminarian Nathan King takes […]

The Rector, Canon John O’Leary introduces the current edition of the newsletter, reminding us of the important mile stone this year of Allen Hall Seminary being established in Chelsea for fifty years, whilst drawing on the vast history from Douai Seminary in France, established in1568 by Cardinal Allen for the training of Catholic priests during […]

On Monday 16th February 2026 here at Allen Hall, we celebrated the ordination of our brother seminarian, Rene de los Reyes, to the role of Diaconate Deacon for the Diocese of Aberdeen. The diaconate itself is rooted in the early Christian Church. Dating back to the Acts of the Apostles, with the first deacons appointed […]

In December we were delighted to welcome the Christian Mothers Association to Allen Hall. The mothers represented the parishes of St Mary and Andrew, Dollis Hill and St Francis de Sales in Tottenham. It was pure joy to have the ladies stay for Vespers and were able to explain their continual charitable work and support […]

Seminary life is heavily dedicated to the academic, pastoral and the spiritual, but time can be found for the ‘ beautiful’ game ‘. On a late cold and dizzily night in November the Allen Hall team commitment was clearly witnessed. Different nationalities, areas of the UK, ages and abilities all playing as one great Allen […]

Four Seminarians proudly received Candidacy on Saturday 25th October 2025 and we as a Seminary would like to congratulate Jonathan Burden    – Diocese of Brentwood  Farvin Gonsalves   –  Diocese of Portsmouth  Rene de los Reyes  – Diocese of Aberdeen  Julian Pinto               – Diocese of Plymouth  The ceremony took […]

The Rector seated with Formators, Seminarians and Religious Orders