Our Vision:
Building a Catholic community @ UCT
We gather as friends in the Lord, a place for growing in faith and establishing networks.

Our Mission:
Faith, Hope and Love in action.
Our faith in God inspires us to hope in a brighter future. We love because God is love. That love is best seen in action.

Kolbe House is the home of the Catholic chaplaincy to the University of Cape Town and other tertiary institutions in Cape Town.

Our faith in God inspires us to hope in a brighter future. We love because God is love. That love is best seen in action.

The Chaplaincy has operated on a full-time basis since 1935, with the first chaplain being Fr Bryan Gavan Duffy SJ. While members of other religious Orders and Diocesan clergy have also served in this role, for the past four decades the chaplain has been supplied by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The current chaplain is Fr. Chiedza Chimhanda SJ.

The vision of the chaplaincy is to create a spiritual home and community for Catholic students, faculty and other members of the university community. It is a space in which their faith can grow and in which they can learn, teach, question, form friendships, share, find new challenges, develop leadership skills, and ultimately realise their potential as people of God. The chaplaincy seeks to share knowledge of the Biblical roots of Catholic doctrine and practice, and to instil in students an acute awareness of Catholic social teaching as a way to prepare them to face the challenges of life beyond University.

The centrepiece of chaplaincy life is Sunday Mass at Kolbe House, the times of which are found on the home page. These services are subject to current Covid-19 restrictions and may be provided by online means. When permitted, weekday Masses are held at Kolbe House at 17h00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and there is Mass on UCT main campus at 13h05 on Wednesdays. There are also numerous other chaplaincy events, both for purposes of formation and of a social nature. A highlight of the year is the series of Holy Week liturgies culminating in an all-night Easter vigil for which a special liturgy has developed over the years.

All are welcome at these events. For further information, please contact the Chaplain. (For reservations or other matters etc., please contact the warden.” (the word ‘warden’ links to the Contact page)