Chaplaincy
The heart of the school
Our faith and our Jesuit spirituality are at the very heart of our school. At the centre of our educational mission is the Jesuit ideal of finding God in all things. All children take an active part in our prayer life and attend our Liturgies which are a much valued part of our day, enjoyed by all faiths and denominations. Our young people develop the habit of reflection and grow in their personal relationship with God. Children wishing to make their first communion are prepared for the sacrament by the Chaplaincy Team.
At Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall, children are helped to appreciate what they have and learn to make the most of their talents. They are actively encouraged to do their best in everything and to celebrate the successes of others through a spirit of gratitude and generosity.
We welcome young people of all Christian traditions, and other faiths, encouraging them to play as full a part as they can in the spiritual life of our school; we are proud of our Catholic heritage, pedagogy and tradition. We are a predominately Catholic school and world-famous as a centre of excellence in the Jesuit tradition.
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We would love to welcome you and your child to the Stonyhurst family.
Explore our other chapels
We have seven beautiful chapels at Stonyhurst. One at St Mary's Hall and a further six at Stonyhurst College. Explore a handful of these beautiful places of worship by clicking the links below.
Visit The Sodality Chapel
Visit St Peter's Church
Visit The College Chapel
Jesuit Principles
Jesuit principles provide a solid foundation for our mission to develop our pupils’ unique talents, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam, for the greater glory of God, and to find God in all things. We use the Jesuit Pupil Profile as a way of talking to children about what it means to be a good person and to live one’s life well, encouraged by the values and virtues proclaimed in the gospel. As a community, we aim to live by these values in all that we do and we give children the opportunity to learn more about themselves, their local community and the world around them.
With Christ at the centre of our caring, supportive and prayerful community of pupils, staff and parents, we know our children as individuals, provide for their specific needs and help them to grow with the long-term goal of becoming well-rounded 'men and women for others' in the Ignatian tradition.
Saint Ignatius Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus and Jesuit schools), called us to ‘Go forth and set the world on fire’. At St Mary’s Hall we are preparing the children for their future, in which they will use their gifts, knowledge and energies to make the world a better place.
Jesuits around the world
Today, we retain strong links with Jesuit schools around the world. Two thirds of our pupils are Roman Catholics, one third join us from overseas, and you’ll find Stonyhurst alumni serving others and in leadership roles around the world.
Our student body has always been drawn from a global community and this enriches chaplaincy work at Stonyhurst. Our pupils regularly take part in projects with other Jesuit schools around the world, just a few examples are the Global Christmas Prayer Link and the "Connected Classroom", both facilitated by Educate Magis.
The foundation of faith, a key feature of the school, is evident in all areas of school life.
ISI Report
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Teaching
Classes
Classes and tutor groups take turns to lead the weekly whole school Mass, which is celebrated by the whole community, with parents and family members welcome to attend. St Mary’s Hall has its own beautiful chapel and there are six further chapels on the Stonyhurst estate. At key points in the term and on Catholic Feast Days we come together in the inspiring surroundings of St Peter’s church to celebrate Mass as a whole Stonyhurst community, with children aged 3-18 praising God together.
Projects
We support a number of projects as part of our community/charity outreach programme, some of those include:
- The Xavier Project was established by an OS to support the education of refugee children in Kampala Uganda. Pupils at St Mary's Hall fundraise through various events throughout the year and create audio Examen prayer recordings which are shared with children in Kampala.
- Locally we support Nightsafe charity for young homeless in Balckburn. Elements pupils (Year 6) have also taken part in various collective and individual fundraising initiatives e.g. 'Little Sleep Out'.
- Children with profound physical and learning disabilities visit SMH for wheelchair dancing, welly walk in the woods and games on the lawns. SMH pupils spend the morning with these children and share lunch together.
- Children are active in supporting the vulnerable through collections of foodstuffs, toiletries and clothing supporting organisations such as by Maundy Relief in Accrington, Nightsafe and other charities.
Many individual and collective pupil efforts demonstrate a willingness to be active in the world, both locally and globally. We welcome and initiate contact with the local community through visits to SMH and outreach.
