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 entrusts the spiritual formation of its students to the Marian Missionaries of Divine Mercy, with Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC, as the Director of Formation. Through this partnership, students of Magdalen College have the opportunity to participate in retreats, courses, and service opportunities led by Fr. Gaitley and the Missionaries. During their four years at the college, students are thoroughly immersed in the spirituality of such saints as John Paul II, Thérèse of Lisieux, Faustina Kowalska, Maximilian Kolbe and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Students are also encouraged to participate in the Confraternity of St. Joseph or the Sodality of Mary, groups that 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.
