Something quiet is happening across the Catholic Church. Adults are being received through RCIA in numbers that haven't been seen in a generation. Parents are asking serious questions about the faith they are passing on. Lay catechists want to teach beyond the slogans. In a time of cultural noise, more and more of the laity are looking for the substance the tradition has always carried.
These men and women are not preparing for ordained ministry. They are not enrolling at a university. They sit in a third place — and until now, it has been hard to find serious, faithful, accessible formation designed for them.
"I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity."
John Henry Newman, Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England (1851)
In November 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a Doctor of the Church and co-patron of Catholic education, alongside St Thomas Aquinas. Maryvale's Further Education programme places its work under his patronage and takes his vision as its working mandate.
Six part-time, theologically rigorous short courses — designed for working adults, taught online (some with an in-person element), and certificated through Maryvale's Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (HIRS). They are not seminary; they are not university. They are theology for lay people — formation for the laity, taught at a level that respects the seriousness of the subject and the seriousness of the student.
These courses have no academic prerequisites, but rely heavily on basic computer skills and a working knowledge of English. To take part, you will need:
If you are unsure whether your English or computer skills are at the right level, please get in touch before applying — we are happy to talk it through.
A theology of Christian marriage, from Genesis to Christ the Bridegroom, with a distinctive focus on the four graces of the sacrament.
Formation for altar servers and those who train them, grounded in the theology of the liturgy.
A guided journey through the historical books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to 2 Maccabees — read as one unfolding covenant story rather than disconnected episodes.
A guided journey through the Synoptic Gospels and the Pauline Letters — read as one continuous testimony to the encounter with the risen Christ.
For those who follow the Traditional Latin Mass and want to understand it from within.
Focused on reading the New Testament. By the end of the course, students will be reading the opening chapters of St John's Gospel in the original.
Please contact us by making an online enquiry below.