An ecumenical delegation of Lancaster University Chaplains has met Pope Leo XIV following an audience at the Vatican in Rome.

The visit included Canon Michael Docherty (Catholic), Reverend Matt Guilder (Church of England) and Lead Chaplain the Reverend John Rogers (Baptist) who all had the opportunity to meet his Holiness in person.

The purpose of the trip was to build closer ties between the ecumenical Christian partners who lead the Chaplaincy at Lancaster, which was the first university in the country to create a 'multi-faith chaplaincy space.

Lead chaplain the Reverend John Rogers said: " Meeting the Pope was a wonderful opportunity and privilege, and something I never expected to happen when I started last year as Lead Chaplain at the university. The Pope seemed genuinely interested to hear about the work of our multi-faith chaplaincy, which was such an encouragement and endorsement of what we are trying to achieve in bringing different faith traditions together.

“To meet the Pope and hear his thoughts on the role of faith in the 21^st Century was a real highlight, and something special that will remain with each of us for many years to come.”

The trip was also an opportunity to consider the overall vision of the Chaplaincy, and to seek insight from practitioners in this field based at the English Seminary in Rome - the Venerable English College.

Canon Michael Docherty said: "Our time together in Rome helped us learn more about our shared Christian heritage, it gave us space to reflect and discuss the progress we have made as a team over the last year, and to think about what we hope to see in the future."

The Chaplaincy delegation also took time out during their visit to Rome to meet the founders of the 'Hallow' app which has 30 million subscribers across the Christian traditions, many of them under 25 years of age.

The Reverend John Rogers said: “We had some helpful conversations in terms of how we best support the engagement of the next generation of spiritual seekers, what trends have been noticed and what resources might be made available."

The Chaplaincy team are grateful to the Chaplaincy charity for funding the trip and to the Catholic Church for facilitating it, in particular Bishop Paul Swarbrick the Catholic Trustee of the Chaplaincy Charity.