However, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith decreed that it would be next to impossible for the ancient English universities to be frequented without mortal sin, stressing the dangers of an increasing atmosphere of liberalism and scepticism.

Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk purchased property in Cambridge and the Chaplaincy was established at St Edmund's House in November 1886.

[3] A nineteenth-century wing is for the sole use of members of the university and consists of common room, kitchen, popular library and roof terrace.

The surprisingly large Chapel was completed in 1976, and sympathetically improved in 2011 (the first donation for these works was given by Pope Benedict XVI, who had stayed at Fisher House when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to give a lecture in 1988).

This 2m artwork was constructed according to contemporary medieval Italian methods, in particular those documented in Cennino Cennini’s c. 1400 work Libro dell’Arte.

[9] Yet, it is not the buildings that make Fisher House but the students and other members of the University who worship at the Chaplaincy and create so many opportunities to grow in faith and enjoy each other's company.