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AN INTERNATIONAL AN ACADEMIC A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

AN INTERNATIONAL AN ACADEMIC A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

The Lay Centre

Our Vision

To inspire and prepare future leaders to serve the Church and the world.
The Lay Centre

Our Mission

We offer lay women and men a meaningful experience of community life as well as impactful programs for human, spiritual, intellectual and professional development.
The Lay Centre

Our Values

Faith, Hospitality, Dialogue, and the Care for Our Common Home are the core values that inspire us in everything we do.

Latest News

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Filipe Domingues: ‘Remain in My Love’

This academic year, we at The Lay Centre have chosen to reflect on—and, we hope, to be inspired by—John 15.
September 29, 2025

Call for Papers: Anniversary Year 2026-2027

We invite all who have been associated with The Lay Centre at any point in its rich history to submit an article for consideration in the edited volume as well…
September 15, 2025

In its fifth edition, Summer Lay Leadership Program nurtures emerging Catholic leaders

For the fifth consecutive year, The Lay Centre hosted an intensive week focused on personal and professional development for lay leadership in the Church and the world, tailored especially for…
August 2, 2025

Launching the Rome Seminar for ACCU Mission Officers

An immersive formation program in the heart of the Eternal City brought together Catholic Mission Officers for five days of dialogue, spiritual reflection, and exploration of the Church’s evolving mission.
August 2, 2025

Lay Centre Alumnae Successfully Defend Their Doctoral Dissertations at the Angelicum and the Gregorian

The Lay Centre community celebrated with joy in the second academic semester as two alumnae, both recipients of our Leadership Scholars Program scholarships, successfully defended their doctoral dissertations—one at the…
July 31, 2025

Community Evening Diary: Blessing Our Home

Towards the end of the 2024–2025 academic year, The Lay Centre community came together for a deeply meaningful moment in our shared life. After the celebration of the Eucharist, Rev.…
July 30, 2025

Community Evening Diary: A Conversation with Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ

The Lay Centre community welcomed Rev. Hans Zollner, SJ, a prominent figure in the Church’s safeguarding efforts and director of the Institute of Anthropology – Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity…
June 30, 2025
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The Lay Centre

Our Vision

To inspire and prepare future leaders to serve the Church and the world.

The Lay Centre

Our Mission

We offer lay women and men a meaningful experience of community life as well as impactful programs for human, spiritual, intellectual and professional development.

The Lay Centre

Our Values

Faith, Hospitality, Dialogue, and the Care for Our Common Home are the core values that inspire us in everything we do.

Help us

to help

To support The Lay Centre’s mission of promoting the laity through faith, hospitality, dialogue, and the care for our common home, please donate.

Help us to help

To support The Lay Centre’s mission of promoting the laity through faith, hospitality, dialogue, and the care for our common home, please donate.

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Testimonies

“At The Lay Centre, I learned that the openness of our hearts and minds, as well as our behaviour and attitude, can impact our surroundings. This is a place of communion, where we take care of one another and share the values and characteristics of Christ.”

Sadaf YaqubPakistan

“The exercise of ‘tuning’ our common prayer and liturgies according to the needs and gifts of the residents was a unique experience in growing and listening to others. It allowed us to provide a different kind of care or service to the community and its members.”

Tommaso BacciItaly

“I loved The Lay Centre and the time there was wonderful. I felt at home. It was a very warm and welcoming surrounding. I made friends there who are still friends. I also discovered the world of interreligious dialogue and, specifically, the Catholic world.”

Shulamit MillerIsrael

“If you are searching for a place to grow in all areas of life. This is the place to be. The Lay Centre is a home, where you learn to love with your talents, serving the community, where you grow in knowledge, learning from others, where you deepen your faith, praying for each other and sharing life struggles.”

Stefanie BrossGermany

“I learned so much about the different work lay people were doing or hoped to do in the Church. I was edified to see how hard my fellow students were working, how seriously they took their prayer lives and how much they encouraged one another to pursue their studies and vocations.”

Dianne TrafletUSA

“Here we have opportunities to learn from experts in different areas, workshops on leadership and the general exposure to different beliefs and worldviews that come from living in an international, intercultural, interreligious community. The strength that the community provides through rich conversations, nightly prayer, and a shared life is a source of comfort and hope.”

Tere ÁvilaMexico

"It has been a great advantage to have people who study similar things to me and to be able to ask questions and think together. Community evenings have always been moments of great growth. I always continue thinking a lot about what I heard.”

Maria RochaPortugal

“This community has restored my hope in the Church, and has given me the grace to share the journey with other laypeople, full of a desire to learn and serve. It has also been a fundamental space to motivate me to keep my spiritual habits always alive.”

Daniela N. GiraldoColombia

"A highlight of living at The Lay Centre were the friendships, where there is genuine openness for discussion. Also, the Wednesday evening community nights and the high-calibre guests invited by The Lay Centre have been very enriching. I’ve learned a lot about different aspects of the Catholic Church, including its spirituality, theology, and practical aspects of its functioning."

Francis ChanHong Kong

“It's fascinating. Sharing practices and rituals with people from different faiths made me realize our shared humanity. The growth in understanding diverse viewpoints and participating in meaningful practices, even if initially unfamiliar, is great.”

Yarden MillingtonIsrael

“Participating in The Lay Centre community made me reflect on the community of my own tradition and how I can carry the wisdom gained here into the future for the benefit of others.”

Sayalay SandardikarMyanmar

“The community has certainly been supportive over the course of my studies, with each of its members contributing in their own way in making it a welcoming and peaceful space in which to have enriching exchanges of ideas, constructive interactions, as well as moments of fun together.”

Elia GittardiItaly