From WW1 Field Hospital to a Cambridge Chapel

The Catholic Chapel of St Vincent de Paul, part of the parish of Our Lady & the English Martyrs in Cambridge, marked the saint’s feast day on Sunday 27 September by welcoming a steady stream of visitors to its Heritage Open Day.

The event celebrated not just the life and work of St Vincent, but also the building’s remarkable history and the warm, welcoming community at its heart.

Following the regular Sunday Mass, parishioners gathered outside in the sunshine for coffee and cake and opened the chapel’s doors to visitors. With enthusiasm and friendliness, they showed people around the church, shared its fascinating story and offered everyone a warm welcome.

The building began life as one of the prefabricated huts of the First Eastern General Hospital, established in Cambridge at the outbreak of the First World War. After the hospital closed, it went on to serve as temporary housing, a working men’s club and the original church for St Laurence’s parish in Chesterton, before eventually being dismantled, moved and re-erected as the Chapel of St Vincent de Paul.

Visitors were able to discover this unusual history, learn more about St Vincent de Paul and the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and enjoy the hospitality for which the community is known. For those who wished, this even included a glass of wine made from the grapes in the garden! The occasion was made particularly special by the presence of a former parish priest, Monsignor Tony Rogers, who concelebrated Mass with Father Adrian Gates.

St Vincent’s is a small, informal community whose members come from more than 20 countries around the world. This diversity is part of what makes it such a welcoming place, where people of different backgrounds come together in faith, friendship and mutual support.

Yet the event was about more than the story of a building. Its origins as a field hospital offer a powerful connection with Pope Francis’s description of the Church as a “field hospital” — a place that reaches out to those who are wounded by life, offers healing and compassion, and welcomes people wherever they find themselves.

This vision has a particular resonance with the example of St Vincent, whose life was dedicated to serving those in need. His example continues to inspire Christians to make their faith visible through practical kindness, compassion and service. At St Vincent’s, this calling is expressed in many ways: sometimes through supporting someone facing difficulties, and sometimes through something as simple as making time for a conversation, sharing a cup of coffee or helping a newcomer feel at home.

The Heritage Open Day was a lovely expression of that spirit, and the success of the day was a reminder that the life of a church is about much more than its walls or its history. It is about people coming together, caring for one another and making God’s love known.

As the community looks to the future, it hopes that St Vincent’s will continue to be a place where everyone is welcome, where friendship can grow and where those in need of comfort and support can find a place to belong.

The building may have changed its purpose, but perhaps its story still has something to teach us…

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