The Von Hügel Institute (VHI) was founded in 1987 as a research institute of St Edmund's College, University of Cambridge, dedicated to the study of the relationship between Christianity and society. With our Catholic Chapel and Dean who is a Roman Catholic priest, the VHI retains a link with the Roman Catholic origins of the College. This was founded in 1896 as a House for Catholic priests reading for degrees in Cambridge. The VHI is committed to an ecumenical approach and is dedicated to social science research into the links between Christian intellectual life and culture in a broad sense, thus responding to new and exciting challenges and opportunities, as well as to the threats to human dignity and life, which all characterise our globalised world.

Our Mission Statement

The Institute bases its overall approach on Catholic Social Teaching, but remains open to all who share its values. As part of St Edmund's College, a constitutent college of the University of Cambridge, the Institute seeks to attain its goal by socially and politically relevant research and analyses of social, economic and cultural phenomena within its general area of competence.

Our Objectives

The Institute engages in three broad areas of research into

• The relationship between Christianity and society
• The application of Catholic Social Teaching in such a way as to inform Catholic Social Policy
• Issues of social justice