News & Events — Venerable English College
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VEC seminarians serve for the Pope
Serving Mass for Pope Leo’s first Easter Sunday
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
6 April 2026
Two new Deacons
Jonathan Henry and Jack Ryan ordained to the Diaconate
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
8 January 2026
Mass and Dinner with Cardinal Nichols
An evening of thanksgiving with Cardinal Vincent Nichols
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
11 December 2025
Cardinal Pizzaballa visits the VEC
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem reflects on ministry in the Holy Land
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
21 November 2025
Acolytate Mass
Barnabas Mercer instituted as an Acolyte in the Church
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
19 November 2025
A new Doctor of the Church!
St John Henry Newman declared Doctor of the Church and Co-Patron for Education
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
3 November 2025
A Royal Visit
VEC students and staff took part in the State Visit of His Majesty The King
JAMES SOMERVILLE-MEIKLE
24 October 2025
New video about the College and our martyrs
Take a look at this new video about the College and our martyrs.
VEC
7 January 2025
Visita il Venerabile Collegio Inglese
You can now book an art-historical tour of the College on Saturday mornings.
VEC
2 November 2024
The New Year
Here we are! Nearly the whole seminary community gathered together for our first House Meeting - looking remarkably cheerful, and hopeful about the year to come!
VEC
11 October 2024
Director of Heritage Collections: Job Description
The full job description for the VEC Director of Heritage Collections post.
VEC
4 July 2024
Thinking about Synodality
A great workshop on Synodality this morning with Julian Paparella, our Intellectual Formation Coordinator. We are taking advantage of two quiet days before university lectures start tomorrow, and this fits in very nicely with the opening of the Synod tomorrow.
VEC
3 October 2023
Starting the year
It was great to be with some of the new men and the formation team (and Marion, Julian's wife) for a pilgrimage to the Catacombs of St Callistus recently. This was also their first visit to Palazzola, where we had lunch on the terrace overlooking Lake Albano.
VEC
19 September 2023
Our New Men for 2023-24
What a privilege for the new men and the formation team to meet Pope Francis at the Papal Audience, and to pray with him and with the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square. This is us in the queue beforehand!
VEC
18 September 2023
Our new seminarians: praying with Pope Francis
What a joy that our six new seminarians, together with some of our formation team, could pray with Pope Francis at the Papal Audience on Wednesday morning.
VEC
24 September 2022
A Roman Requiem for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
People from all over Rome gathered at the Venerable English College on Sunday for a Solemn Requiem Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Queen Elizabeth.
VEC
12 September 2022
A new priest
Congratulations to Fr Andrew Coy, ordained priest today for the diocese of Northampton.
Andrew left the VEC last academic year, as the coronavirus struck. He was ordained deacon while back in the diocese, where he exercised his diaconal ministry.
Vice-Rector VEC
25 March 2021
New website for Palazzola
Palazzola, the VEC’s house in the Alban Hills south of Rome,
has a new website
The strictures caused by the pandemic have given us the opportunity to look at the ways we publicise and market Palazzola, and one fruit of this work is the website.
Vice-Rector VEC
24 March 2021
Our Rector is leaving
Mgr Philip Whitmore, our beloved Rector for the last eight years, is leaving us.
The Solemnity of St Joseph was the occasion for a post-festal supper announcement.
Vice-Rector VEC
20 March 2021
Happy New Year
To mark the end of an extraordinary year, those remaining at the VEC celebrated in style. It was not the usual end-of-year celebration, of course.
Vice-Rector VEC
1 January 2021