Chaplaincy

Welcome from the Chaplaincy Team

Giving young people the opportunity to encounter God is one of the most important things the community at Cardinal Wiseman offers our students. All students deserve the chance to explore their relationship with Jesus and to come to know how loved they are. Prayer and reflection are key cornerstones of the day at Wiseman; all lessons begin with prayer reiterating to our young people how prayer and a relationship with God must flow through all we do. Students are also presented with a huge number of opportunities to grow their faith in a personal way, aided and guided by the chaplaincy team. 

The Chaplaincy Team

Our Chaplaincy team is led by Tom our Lay Chaplain and Beth who is Assistant Lay Chaplain. Both have a huge amount of experience working with young people and love creating opportunities for students to encounter Jesus. Beth plays a large role in supporting students with their mental health and works closely with a number of students in dealing with issues in their lives. We are also incredibly fortunate to have Fr Des as our priest chaplain. Father Des is regularly in school celebrating Mass and getting involved in lots of other things. 

Opportunities for students

One of the best things about Cardinal Wiseman is our incredible chapel, a space that is brilliant not only for Mass but also for hosting prayer services and giving students the opportunity to find a space of calm and quiet. The Chapel is always open and students are always welcome to come and sit either in silence or for a chat. 

We also provide opportunities for students to go on residential retreats at Alton Castle and Soli House, chances to work with our partnered primary schools and chances to take part in retreat days. Supporting students with their mental health is also of huge importance and every effort is made to ensure all students receive the support they need. 

Prayer & Worship

Student-led prayer is of huge importance to the way Chaplaincy operates at Cardinal Wiseman. We strive to find as many opportunities for students to be involved in the planning and leading of worship both for our own students and students across the MAC. Tom and Beth work with different groups of students on different projects and often these projects come from ideas presented by students themselves. 

• Throughout the year each form has the opportunity to celebrate mass together. The students take the lead on readings and also sing together.
• We also host larger masses and liturgies for year groups and the whole school. These will focus on particular areas of the liturgical calendar – such as Ash Wednesday or Advent. 
• Each week students help to create digital resources to aid our forms during their daily acts of worship. We have a YouTube channel (Chaplaincy at Wiseman) through which we share videos each week focusing on the Saints, the Gospels and key dates in the Churches calendar. Lectio Divina and other forms of prayer are also shared each week.
• Every Wednesday the Chapel is open in the morning for Adoration and on Thursdays staff have the opportunity to gather for staff prayer. 

Charity

Inspired by Jesus’ call to love all, we are a community that works to support the needs of all in our community as well as responding to the needs of those around the world. We regularly support charities both locally and globally and have strong links with our partner school in Malawi. We are always on the lookout for new charities to support and new ways to raise money, please do share any ideas with us!