Catholic Chaplaincy to the Liverpool Universities
About us
"A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one"
St Philip Neri
The chaplaincy is led by Fr Neil Ritchie. The chaplaincy is normally open Monday-Thursday between 9 am - 1 pm with access from the side gate off Blackburne place (check the updates here).​ Either Fr Neil or another member of the chaplaincy team is normally around then if you ever need to pass by to talk or use the Chaplaincy Centre for study or relaxation. You may also like to use the garden in the warmer months!
what do we offer?
• Mass and prayer opportunities
• A chance to discover and deepen your Catholic faith
• Visiting speaker on themes to do with the Catholic faith
• Opportunities for social action and charitable work
• Social events
• Most of all, a place of friendship and hospitality
See what's on here! And if you are a university member join our Facebook group here!
and what do students say about the chaplaincy?
“a home from home…”
“an ‘open space’ – not a clique”
“a place of stability”​
“growing together”​
“somewhere you can be accepted”
“a place where you can be yourself”​
“being supported in living out my Catholic faith”​
“a place of happiness, joy, and the Spirit”
“somewhere you can get advice and help from peers”
the chaplaincy team
Fr Neil Ritchie
Father Neil was born and grew up in Aberdeen. On leaving the school he came to Liverpool to study at what was then the City of Liverpool College of Higher Education and graduated in Psychology and Education Studies in 1985. He trained for the priesthood at the English College, Valladolid and Ushaw College, Durham, and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Liverpool in 1992. He worked in various parishes for 14 years, latterly as parish priest of Twelve Apostles and Our Lady of the Rosary parishes, Leigh. During this time he also obtained a Diploma in Counselling from the University of Salford. In 2008 he was awarded a Licentiate in Theological Ethics from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, after which he joined the teaching staff of Ushaw College, Durham. On its closure in 2011, he was invited to join the clinical staff of St Luke's Centre, Manchester, which offers psychological services to the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
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In 2017, he was appointed chaplain to the University of Liverpool and John Moores University by Archbishop McMahon. This was doubly apposite since Fr Neil had been received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church in 1983, through the University Catholic Chaplaincy (then situated on Mount Pleasant), and also because the college he had studied at became part of Liverpool Polytechnic – later John Moores University – during his time there.
Fr Neil has close connections with the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). He has a long-standing interest in both flying (he was awarded a private pilot's license in 2014) and railways, and also enjoys reading and films. He gets home to Scotland to visit his family two or three times a year.
I have spent most of my life in London but lived in Liverpool for 5 years as a student. I studied History as an undergraduate (along with French and Politics as subsidiary subjects in my first year) and then did a part-time MA in 18th Century Worlds. While being a student in Liverpool, I became actively engaged in social and environmental justice issues and in local, regional, and national political campaigning.
On moving back to London, I worked in Parliament and the third sector, which lead me to do a PhD looking at 'food insecurity among Disabled people' at King's College London (following completion of an MSc in Medicine, Health and Public Policy). The Chaplaincy at KCL was a great support to my faith journey, which became a real adventure as I started to explore Ordination in the Church of England before feeling called into full communion with the Catholic Church. I was received into full communion on Pentecost 2024.
In my spare time I enjoy cooking, dancing, singing, seeing friends, walking outdoors and pilgrimages.