At Magdalen College we seek to integrate a rich liturgical life with the great devotional traditions of the Church. We seek to cultivate the conditions within the hearts and minds of our students for an encounter with Christ.
The life of the College is ordered not only to the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom within the classroom but also to the spiritual growth of all members of our collegiate community. Our academic year unfolds according to the rhythms of the liturgical year. Indeed, the liturgical highlight of the year comes during the liturgies of the sacred Easter Triduum. On Feast Days such as the Immaculate Conception, the College’s offices are closed and the distinct nature of the Feast is marked in special ways.
At Magdalen College we seek to provide our students with liturgies marked by beauty and reverence, drawing deeply on the great liturgical traditions of the Church. Our chaplain celebrates Mass in both the Ordinary Form throughout the week and the Extraordinary Form once per week. Students also gather each day in the collegiate chapel to pray Morning and Evening prayer and in the residential chapels to sing Compline.
At Magdalen College we seek to integrate a rich liturgical life with the great devotional traditions of the Church. In addition to daily Mass, confession, and the Liturgy of the Hours, students are also invited to gather daily to pray the rosary and weekly adoration with benediction. Each residence includes a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is in repose and Compline is sung nightly.
Magdalen College calls its students to a lifetime of discipleship, in which the graces of the sacraments, the practices of prayer, the rosary, and spiritual reading, and the full treasury of the spiritual traditions of the Church become the means for a communion that begins in this life and continues into the next. This calling is both explicit and cultural: students hear the call from the college’s chaplain and leadership but also experience the call through the college’s fundamental cultural orientation. The sacraments and liturgies, spiritual direction and encouragement from friends, and the opportunities for service and fellowship all aim to this highest of all purposes. One of the unique ways that Magdalen offers this call to her students is through the Confraternity of St. Joseph and the Sodality of Mary. These groups meet twice a month in the president’s residence for a home-cooked meal, spiritual reading, prayer and fellowship.
Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel is the center of campus life. Built of red brick, with New Hampshire granite capstones that symbolize the four marks of the Church, the Chapel is a place of worship. Its simple and reverent design, with colorful faceted-glass windows, mosaic Stations of the Cross, and a large crucifix directly above the tabernacle, helps to focus a worshipper’s attention on Christ the Lord who is truly present. The chapel also houses a reliquary of over fifty relics and statues honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. Mary Magdalen.
Happy Michaelmas! In honor of the Feast of the Archangels, we are pleased to share the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, sung by the Magdalen community at today’s Mass.

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Wednesday evenings are for Adoration at Magdalen.
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Several Magdalen students met Bishop Barron during his recent trip to Harvard University! They resonated deeply with his appreciation of the Catholic intellectual tradition, the subject of his address at Harvard‘s Memorial Church.
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What a gift he is to our Catholic Church! I am happy for you, Mary Grace🙏🏻🕊
What is a Catholic approach to alcohol? Listen to the latest episode of Magdalen‘s “From the Summit” podcast for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Jared Staudt on fasting, feasting, friendship … and drinking for the glory of God. Listen at magdalen.edu/about/podcast.
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Magdalen students welcomed students from Dartmouth College for a brunch and hike up Mt. Kearsarge. Thanks to Fr. Timothy Danaher (Director of Aquinas House at Dartmouth) and Fr. Ethan Moore for celebrating Mass on top of the mountain. 
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That’s cool
Magdalen celebrated its first Oxford-style Formal Hall of the year. With a purple/pink sunset decorating the sky outside, students sang Palestrina’s “Sicut Cervus” and listened to a fascinating presentation on Galileo’s trial. A truly stimulating evening!

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Students will have the opportunity to take one of the following courses for college credit. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and consider whether they might like to pursue that academic discipline as a potential college major. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Theology of the Body: The Deeper Meaning of Love, Sex, and Marriage (1 credit) – Dr. Ryan Messmore
THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
When it comes to romantic relationships and marriage, today’s culture is awash in confusion. The Church calls people to see a deeper meaning to sexual desire and marriage. But what is that, and how can it be pursued in modern times? Saint Pope John Paul II has provided valuable teaching in this area. Along with his “Theology of the Body,” this course will explore the nature of love, the meaning of betrothal and marriage, and sexual ethics from a Christian perspective. Class discussions will be theological and philosophical as well as practical.
Philosophy & Humanities: Friendship in Western Culture (1 credit) – Dr. Brian FitzGerald and Dr. Erik Van Versendaal
THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
One of the most important features of human experience is friendship. Drawing on the great books of Western culture in literature, history, philosophy, and theology, from Aristotle and St. Augustine to Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis, this course will reflect on the nature of friendship across the centuries. Why do we need friends? What makes a good one? What are some obstacles to friendship? What happens as friends grow and mature in different ways?
Christ in Scripture (1 credit) – Deacon Karl Cooper
THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” In this course we will seek to meet and understand Christ as he presents himself in all the Scriptures. We will read, discuss, enjoy, and pray through the most crucial texts, and focus our work on the living and present Christ.
$395.00 USD
Tuition includes room and board. The purchase of a book may be required for some classes. Students should bring spending money for off-campus trips.
Students will have the opportunity to take one of the following courses for college credit. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and consider whether they might like to pursue that academic discipline as a potential college major. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Physics: Understanding Boomerangs, Billiard Balls, and Balance Beam Routines (1 credit) – Mr. John Klucinec
THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
This course explores the laws of motion as described by Galileo and Newton by reading and discussing these authors and through classroom experiments. Students will gain an understanding of physics in concrete phenomena through studying air flight, fluid dynamics, the aerodynamics of the boomerang, the motion of billiard balls, and the physics of gymnastics and diving.
Poetry and Politics in the Western Tradition (1 credit) – Dr. Mary Mumbach
THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
This course will examine poetic form and political form in the tradition of the West. Students will explore, in particular, how the Incarnation shapes the roles of imagination, prudence, and the heroic in literature and political philosophy. Readings in poetry, fiction, and American Founding documents will be considered.
Moral Philosophy: How Do We Make the Right Decisions? (1 credit) – Rev. Fr. Stephen Rocker
THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
Natural law morality and utilitarianism are incompatible frameworks of moral reasoning, yet elements of both are mixed in the public mind. Catholic moral teaching and the Western system of law are grounded in natural law. This course will present these two moral frameworks and apply them to moral issues.
$395.00 USD
Tuition includes room and board. The purchase of a book may be required for some classes. Students should bring spending money for off-campus trips.