Living at The Lay Centre
The Lay Centre is more than just a residence for students in Rome. We are a community founded on faith, dialogue, hospitality and the care for our common home, and for each other. We are a Catholic organization, open to welcoming non-Catholics as well, in a spirit of fraternity and friendship. Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue are in our DNA.
In our house, everyone contributes to communal life through their personal gifts and small acts of community service. Those who live here wish to have an active and deep prayer life and seek opportunities to do charitable work. We value celebrating the Eucharist together once a week and going on a spiritual retreat twice a year outside Rome that respects and nurtures the lay vocation.
Life here is also marked by a series of meetings with people who think differently than ourselves, opportunities to hear voices from the global Church. We also organize personal and professional development sessions, workshops and events that are open to the public.
Before you apply to live here, it is important to make sure that you share these values and are interested in helping us grow in our mission.
Our Community
We are an international community. It is not uncommon for members of our community to come from more than 15 different countries. We have two official languages, English and Italian. It is important that everyone knows a little of both, but it is essential that they master at least one of them.
The people who live in our community come on a temporary basis, during the time they are studying at the pontifical universities in Rome, carrying out research projects or volunteering in ecclesial organizations. This can last from six months to a few years.
Today our house is located in the premises of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (Passionists), in the historic centre of the city. We can accommodate just over 20 people at a time.
How to apply
Should you find our community life and formation opportunities interesting, here’s what you need to consider.
1. Affiliation
If your goal is to study in Rome, you should contact a pontifical university and find out about the study program that you would like to pursue. You will need to be pre-registered at a university in order to be accepted to live at The Lay Centre.
If you are a visiting scholar from a foreign university, a visiting professor or need to carry out some work linked to the life of the Church in Rome, you can write to us directly introducing your project.
2. Finances
Although the academic fees at the pontifical universities are not extremely high, life in Rome is expensive. You need to calculate your annual expenses well before moving here.
Over the years, as a nonprofit organization, The Lay Centre has increasingly sought to access scholarship funds for students at pontifical universities. However, these funds are quite limited. When they are available, we normally open an internal selection process that may also involve partner institutions.
For this reason, most residents at The Lay Centre have already secured an external scholarship prior to their arrival or rely on personal funds to pay for their stay in Rome.
Non-scholarship students should note that their contributions to The Lay Centre represent less than the cost of maintaining our operations and formation programs, thanks to generous benefactors who support the mission of The Lay Centre.
3. Application process
If your decision to live in Rome for a period has matured, you know your goals and you find our mission appealing, the time has come to contact us. Use the form below or write to [email protected].
In your message, in addition to your name, include:
- What you plan to do in Rome.
- How long you plan to stay and your anticipated arrival.
- If you already have any institutional affiliation.
We will respond to you as soon as possible and forward a link to formally start the application process.
The Lay Centre accepts applications throughout the year. They are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
