Prayer, contemplation and faith-based support
The University has prayer facilities on campus and faith-based support is available for all, whether you practise a faith or not. Our quiet spaces offer calm for rest and reflection.
Find our about faith-based support, activities, communities and places of worship at the University.
Explore faith-based support and spaces for contemplation and prayer
Christian prayer and support
The Emmanuel Centre and the Catholic Chaplaincy are home to chapels for Christian prayer, worship activities and faith-based support for all.
Emmanuel Centre
The Emmanuel Centre, managed by the Universities Chaplaincy in Leeds has space for private Christian prayer in the Claire Chapel. Information about opening times, worship activities and faith-based support from Christian chaplains are on the Universities Chaplaincy in Leeds website.
Catholic Chaplaincy
For information about the chapel in the Catholic Chaplaincy, opening times, worship activities and faith-based support visit the Catholic Chaplaincy website.
Muslim prayer and support
The Green Room
The Green Room is our main Muslim prayer space on campus, open Monday to Friday 11.00 - 23.00 and located on the side of the Conference Auditorium, behind the Edge. It offers separate prayer rooms, ablution and washroom facilities for brothers and sisters, and has disabled access and washroom facilities.
Email the Equality and Inclusion Unit at equality@leeds.ac.uk or email Leeds University Union Islamic Society at info@leedsisoc.com to ask for the access code for the Green Room.
Cemetery Lodge – fully closed for refurbishment
Cemetery Lodge is closed for refurbishment to create a better-equipped and more welcoming prayer and study space for our Muslim community. Work is due to be completed in 2025.
Temporary Prayer Space during refurbishment of Cemetery Lodge
From 4 November 2024, new temporary prayer space and ablution facilities will be available in the basement of the Chemical and Process Engineering Building, open Monday to Friday 11:00 – 17:30. This includes accessible prayer and ablution facilities. The access code for the prayer space entrance is available from the Student Information Service either by sending an email from your university email address, or by showing your student/staff ID at the Student Information Point in the foyer of the Chemical and Process Engineering Building, or at any of the other Student Information points.
This new space replaces the temporary prayer space in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and the cabins next to the Medical and Biological Engineering Building which will be closed from 2 November.
Information about Muslim prayer facilities and Friday prayers
For more information about prayer facilities, email the Muslim Student Support team at muslimstudentsupport@leeds.ac.uk.
To find out the location and time of Friday prayers, check Leeds ISoc Instagram on Friday mornings or contact Leeds University Union Islamic Society by emailing info@leedsisoc.com.
Muslim Student Adviser
Muslim Student Adviser Sister Jaan Malik offers one-to-one support for Muslim students and other members of the University community who wish to see her. Sister Jaan is experienced in working with people, especially those who are struggling with different issues in life. She is here to listen, to talk to, or provide support and guidance from an Islamic faith perspective.
Sister Jaan works on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and she is based in the Emmanuel Centre. Email Sister Jaan Malik at j.malik@leeds.ac.uk or call Sister Jaan on: 07543800508.
For general enquiries about support and Muslim prayer spaces, email the Muslim Student Support team at muslimstudentsupport@leeds.ac.uk.
Jewish prayer and support
Hillel House is the centre for Jewish worship and faith-based support on campus.
The Hillel Student Centre Synagogue holds regular Morning Prayer services and offers Orthodox and Egalitarian Friday night services. The Centre also offers a range of support facilities.
Other prayer spaces
Leeds University Union Building
Leeds University Union offers a reflection room on level 1 and ablution facilities are available in the ground floor washrooms. You can find out more about the facilities from the staff at the Help & Support desk in LUU Foyer.
Edward Boyle Library
There is a small prayer room on level 11 (north side) of the Edward Boyle Library. The occupancy is currently limited to 1 person at a time. The door is kept unlocked. Ask at the Edward Boyle enquiry desk if you need help to access it.
Laidlaw Library
There is a prayer room available in room G08 on level 3 of the Laidlaw Library with capacity for up to 8 people. Ask at the Laidlaw Library enquiry desk if you need help to access it.
Health Sciences Library
There is a prayer room available in the Health Sciences Library. Ask at the Health Sciences enquiry desk to access it.
It may sometimes be possible to use a vacant classroom, meeting room or private study area for prayer. Please check with the reception, porter or security staff first, to find out if the space is available. For health and safety reasons, corridors and stairwells need to be kept clear, so they can’t be used for prayer.
Quiet contemplation spaces
St George’s Field
Hidden within the campus is a cemetery site called St George’s Field, which is an important piece of Leeds's Victorian history. St George’s Field is a peaceful green space to visit, and has benches to sit on.
Chancellor’s Court
Another outdoor space you might want to bear in mind if you're looking for peace and quiet is Chancellor’s Court – an open area next to the Roger Stevens Lecture Theatre.
The Galleries
Quiet space indoors might be hard to come by during term-time. However, the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery and Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery in the Parkinson Building are hidden gems where you can find calm. They house temporary exhibitions and treasures from the University’s library and art collections.