Support our Heart and Soul Campaign

The monks of Worth Abbey aim to listen carefully with the ear of their hearts to the message of Christ our Lord and then live it in the work they do.

Through this development campaign the monks are aiming to help more people to access Worth as a sanctuary for Heart and Soul so that they may also hear the message of Christ our Lord.

Some detail on the enhancements we are seeking to make is provided below.

This campaign is being conducted personally through gatherings and conversations that reflect the spirit of our shared mission. So, to find out more and get involved please complete the form below.

Our commitment to enhancing hospitality at Worth Abbey reflects our deep-seated Benedictine doctrine that every guest, received like Christ, enriches our community and embodies the essence of our monastic tradition. The proposed enhancements will enhance the spiritual journey of every visitor, fostering a welcoming sanctuary where all can experience peace and tranquillity. A welcome peace away from a busy world.
_{Rt Rev Mark Barrett, Abbot of Worth}

The Heart and Soul Campaign: Progress Update

We are deeply grateful to the friends of Worth Abbey who have already responded so generously to the Heart and Soul Campaign. Their support is helping us to renew Worth as a place of welcome, worship, witness and wisdom, ensuring that the Abbey can continue to offer hospitality and sanctuary for generations to come.

Thanks to the generosity of benefactors, important improvements are already underway. The renewal of the Abbey Church sound system has been fully funded, and support has also enabled the completion of the lighting project, helping to preserve the beauty and atmosphere of this special place of worship. We have also been able to welcome more young people to Worth through the Fr Stephen Ortiger Fund, which has supported retreats and formation programmes, helping participants encounter Benedictine spirituality, prayer and the hospitality of the Abbey.

We are now looking ahead to the next stages of the campaign, including the creation of a new Welcome Centre. The journey continues, and we warmly invite friends of Worth Abbey to join us in bringing this vision to life.

Phase 1

Phase 1 of the Heart and Soul campaign is aiming to complete four projects which will benefit all users of the Abbey church and estate:

A new welcome centre: We are working with Made architects to transform the existing church narthex by creating a fully accessible welcome area, a much-needed café and meeting space, installing information screens and upgrading our existing toilet facilities. When complete this will significantly enhance the Benedictine welcome visitors to Worth Abbey experience
Complete the Heatherwick furnishing scheme for the congregation and choir areas: We are working with master-carpenter Edward Johnson to complete the restoration of our Thomas Heatherwick designed church furniture. When complete this will support the varied daily uses of the church for many years to come.
Improve the accessibility of the Worth estate: Worth Abbey is set in beautiful 450-acre estate of woodlands, meadows and carefully managed farmland. By improving the quality of the footpaths and providing signposting and information on points of interest, we intend that many more visitors will be able to walk, reflect and connect with its natural beauty.
Fr Stephen Ortiger Fund: Our Benedictine retreat centre, St Bruno’s, offers opportunities for residential visitors to have a time of prayer, reflection and renewal. The Fr Stephen Ortiger Fund exists to help people, especially young people, meet the costs of a retreat in this facility where they might not otherwise be able to do so. From July 2025 to July 2026, the Fund has supported twelve retreats and formation programmes, enabling 226 young people to experience the prayer, hospitality and Benedictine tradition of Worth Abbey

Later phases

Later phases of the campaign will look at how we can improve access to the wisdom in our monastic library by creating a new library space in the eastern ambulatory of the church and a new study space.
We will also look to re-fit our Unity Room as an improved space for small conferences in which the monks can give talks to share with visitors the wisdom they have learned through a lifetime of listening to God.
We are also seeking to undertake developments to enable visitor access to some of the extensive garden areas adjacent to the monastery and church.

Smaller projects

There are a number of smaller projects that we are looking to undertake. These include:

Entrance signage: Visitors to the Abbey often comment on how it is like a hidden gem, difficult to find from the road and car park. We aim to make this gem more visible by improving signage from the road to the car park and from the car park to the monastery and church.
Sound system: Many people access our church services through our livestream but the quality of the sound system, installed during the COVID-19 epidemic, does not convey the full beauty of our liturgy. We want to improve this. We also aim to make it easier to transmit video and sound to and from areas such as the unity room, narthex and piazza making it easier for families, large congregations and those with restricted mobility to fully appreciate our liturgies.
- Thanks to a generous benefactor, the sound system project is now fully funded.
Organ: The church organ is at the heart of many of our church services. Coming up to 15 years old the electronic components need major maintenance if the organ is to retain its central function.
Lights: Our church lighting is old and bulbs are beginning to fail and cannot be replaced without considerable cost. Having done the most urgent pieces of this project we are now seeking to complete the upgrade and maintain the sense of sanctuary the church lighting scheme brings.
- Thanks to a generous benefactor, the lighting project is now fully funded.

Worth School

Our Heart and Soul campaign is being run as a partnership with Worth School.

The monks of Worth Abbey established and built-up Worth School working alongside lay teachers and administrators. The monks of Worth continue to work closely with the lay-led School, regularly gathering with staff and pupils for Mass, worship and assemblies in the Abbey Church. They also support the spiritual development of the teaching staff and chaplaincy team.

Through the campaign, Worth School is focused on making investments to elevate the experiences of its students especially in the areas of sport and science.