The origins of an organised Catholic presence at Cardiff University date back to the 1920s and the University’s Catholic Student Society. It would not be until 1948 that a formal chaplaincy for university staff and students would be established at 61 Colum Road under the auspices of the Benedictine Fr Leo Caesar O.S.B. The chaplaincy found a great benefactor in the industrialist Mr Edward Curran who left money through the Edward Curran Trust to purchase a larger site at 46 Park Place, which is now occupied by the Centre of Student Life.

In 1997, Cardiff University facilitated our move to our current location, 62 Park Place, also providing land for us to build the Aquinas Hall to the rear of the property. Despite a brief move to Nazareth House between 2015-21, the chaplaincy has been based on Park Place ever since and remains a centre of Catholic life for the university population.

Among our notable alumni, we count Mr Stephen Whitehouse, the only student of Cardiff University to be killed by enemy action during the Second World War. A dedicated volunteer warden, he tragically lost his life during an air raid in 1941 which destroyed buildings on Park Place. A memorial to him has been errected in Park Place.