Tilburg University Chaplaincy

Covid-19 situation

With many precautionary measures - the most important one: don't come if you have a cold or high temperature - activities at student Chaplaincy Maranatha are taking place again. Read here the entire protocol for ‘Church life at a 1.5 m distance’.

In order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to come to the Holy Mass, until the end of September 2020, at Maranatha there are two Sunday celebrations: one at 11 am (in English, with a sermon in both English and Dutch) and one at 5 pm (in Dutch, also with a sermon in both languages).

Attention: from Sunday, 4 October, onwards, Tilburg University Chaplaincy will propose again just one Sunday Holy Mass, at 5:00 p.m. This Holy Mass will take place not at Maranatha, but in the so-called "Heikese kerk" in the city center. Address: Stadhuisstraat 6, Tilburg.

You are requested to arrive well in advance, preferably 10 minutes before the start of the services; this in connection with hygiene and order measures. It is not necessary to make reservations.

The Sunday Holy Masses are also broadcast via live streaming at live.chaplain.nl.

If you need any help in this situation or know a person who does, write us via helpmij@protonmail.com

• Wanna help us help people in this situation (f.e. by doing shopping or going to the pharmacy for people who can't leave their houses)?
  • First of all: take good care of yourself
  • Write us at ikhelp@protonmail.com

Pilgrimage Holy Land 2021

After a very beautiful excursion in 2017, Tilburg University Chaplaincy proposes another pilgrimage "in the footsteps of Christ". It will take place from 5 until 12 April 2021. We'll visit, among other things: Nazareth (Annunciation basilica, St.Joseph's church), Mount Tabor, Cana, Lake of Galilee, Mountain of Beatitudes, Capernaum (with the synagogue and St.Peter's house), Sanctuary of the Multiplication of Loaves, Church of Peter's Primacy, the place on the Jordan where Christ was baptized, Bethlehem, Jerusalem (Olive Mountain, place of the Ascension, church of Dominus Flevit; Way of the Cross; Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Mount Sion; Church of the Dormition; Upper Room; West Wall of the Temple), and Jericho.

Price: students (Bachelor/Master, at the time of the registration): 1050 euro; non students: 1650 euro. All meals & transport (flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv, bus transport within the Holy Land; hotels) are included. Insurance (annulment & travel) is not included.
If you participate, you should participate in the whole trip, from the beginning to the end, including the whole program.

This pilgrimage is not adapted for children younger than 16 years old or people who have any difficulties in walking.

You can register by filling this form, and, at the same time transferring an advance of 300 euro to bank account NL76INGB0001945054 of "Maranatha Parochie" stating "Holy Land 2021" and your name and surname. You can subscribe in this way until 30 November 2020 (as long as there are places). The rest of the amount for the trip should be paid before 31 January 2021. The trip will go on when at least 20 people will participate. No more than 40 people can participate. If the trip won't go (f.e. because there are too few registrations) or you cannot participate (f.e. because there are already to many people subscribed), you will be communicated this before 10 December 2020. Of course in that case your subscription fee will be restituted to you asap.

Are you interested in the activities of Tilburg University Chaplaincy? Follow us on social media!

• Instagram @tilburguniversitychaplaincy
• Facebook @studentenkerkmaranatha
• Twitch @chaplainnl
• Twitter @chaplainnl

You can also become a member of Facebook group Tilburg University Chaplaincy!

If you wish to have a personal talk about anything (grief, joy, identity or loneliness), or simply for a cup of coffee. Meet the chaplain, Fr Michael Peeters, at 'Maranatha' student church, Prof. Cobbenhagenlaan 19 (next to the Sports center; from the campus, go three hundred meters towards the city center; the church is on the left-hand side of the road), or in a video call. In order to make an appointment, please send an email to chaplain@tilburguniversity.edu, containing a number of time slots that suit you, preferably from Tuesday to Friday between 4 pm and 5 pm, and also indicate whether you want to come by yourself or if you want to talk by Skype. You will then receive a proposal for an appointment by e-mail, which you then should confirm.

In emergencies, call the chaplain at any time at 06-10405358.

An easy and nice way to see if the Chaplaincy is something for you, is to participate in one of the Chaplaincy tours or Maranatha evenings, usually on Thursdays.

Chaplaincy tours are bike tours to beautiful places around to Tilburg. The tour starts at 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. from university church 'Maranatha', Professor Cobbenhagenlaan 19 in Tilburg. Bring your own bike! We conclude with a meal at the same place. At about 7:30 p.m. the program is finished.

Maranatha evenings are cultural evenings, starting with a meal at 6:30 p.m., followed by a movie, listening together to a piece of (classical) music, getting to know a great work of art or literature, or a discussion about a theme.

For both kinds of events, you should register by sending an e-mail, at least one day before, to maranathaevening@gmail.com. For the meal, a contribution of 5 euro is asked.

As long as the Covid-19 safety measures are in place, only a limited number of people can participate in the meals (8) and the cultural program (12). More people can participate in the Chaplaincy tours (bike tours). If the places for the Maranatha evenings are already fully occupied, you will hear this after your registration. Precedence will be given to university students, especially new students.

Come and have a look some Thursday!

The programma of the Chaplaincy tours and Maranatha evenings in 2020-2021:

What is the relationship between my study and the rest of my life? How can I grow without being alienated by sterile specialization? Can we say something about the ultimate meaning of things? Can religious faith possibly be reasonable?

These and other fundamental questions are treated critically and systematically during a weekly 'School of community', every Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 'Maranatha' student church (Prof. Cobbenhagenlaan 19). Come and participate freely.

Because of the Covid-19 situation, it is also possible to participate in School of community online, via zoom. Ask the zoom link at our secretariat: studentenkerkmaranatha@gmail.com.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is Study Day at Maranatha from 8:45 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. You can work in Maranatha's library or meeting room. Coffee, tea, and Wifi, are available. You can bring and eat your own lunch. Of course, bring your own textbooks and laptop.

The university chaplain is also parish priest of Catholic student parish 'Maranatha' (Professor Cobbenhagenlaan 19).

Holy Mass on Sundays

Until the end of September 2020, at Maranatha there are two Sunday celebrations: one at 11 am (in English, with a sermon in both English and Dutch) and one at 5 pm (in Dutch, also with a sermon in both languages).

Attention: from Sunday, 4 October, onwards, Tilburg University Chaplaincy will propose just one Sunday Holy Mass, at 5:00 p.m. This Holy Mass will take place not at Maranatha, but in the so-called "Heikese kerk" in the city center. Address: Stadhuisstraat 6, Tilburg.

Holy Mass on Christian holy days

On the following holy days in 2020-2021, there are extra celebrations (they will all take place at 'Maranatha', Professor Cobbenhagenlaan 19)

• Monday, 2 November, All Souls: Holy Mass in English at 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 24 December, Christmas Midnight Mass in English at 11:00 p.m.
• Friday, 1 January 2021, New Year: Holy Mass in English at 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, 17 February, Ash Wednesday: Holy Mass in English at 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 1 April, Maundy Thursday: Mass of the Lord's Supper in English at 8 p.m.
• Friday, 2 April, Good Friday: Way of the Cross at 2 p.m.; Good Friday Liturgy in English at 5 p.m.
• Saturday, 3 April, Easter Vigil in English at 9:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 13 May, Ascension: Holy Mass in English at 5:00 p.m.

Holy Mass on weekdays

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., and on Thursdays and Fridays at 8:15 a.m., there is a short weekday Holy Mass at Maranatha. On Tuesdays and Thursdays the Mass is in English, on Wednesdays and Fridays it’s in Dutch.

There are no weekday Masses in the week after Easter (6-9 April 2021), the months of July and August, and the weeks 52, 53, 1, 2, and 3.

Ecumenical morning prayer

On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, at 8:15 a.m., there is an ecumenical morning prayer in English, at Maranatha.

There is no morning prayer in the week after Easter (6-9 April 2021), the months of July and August, and the weeks 52, 53, 1, 2, and 3.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation can be received on appointment with the student chaplain, and also without appointment, every Sunday between 4:30 and 4:50 pm in Maranatha's guest room  (via the door towards the offices).

The church is open

Daily, except on Saturdays, university church 'Maranatha' is open from 8:00am until 6:00pm for visits and prayers.

Other Sacraments

The chaplain is also available for preparation for and administration of the other Sacraments (Baptism, Marriage, Sacrament of the Sick) for members of the university community.

A small polyphonic choir with a beautiful, international repertoire, accompanies the International Student Mass. From 4 October 2020 onwards, it rehearses every Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Heikese kerk, Stadhuisstraat 6. If you like to sing, just come and join!

The Chaplaincy offers a cheap course of Dutch grammar for those foreign students, and others, who would like to enter into the reality in which they find themselves, through one of its main instrument: the language.

This course explores Dutch Grammar, it suits beginners but also those who want to deepen their knowledge of Dutch language. 

The course takes place once every two weeks, on Wednesday evenings, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. 

The starting date is Wednesday 16th September 2020. 

It is possible to come to Maranatha or to follow the course in Zoom.

The book of reference (which you should bring), is: Carol Fehringer: A Reference Grammar of Dutch. With Exercises and Key, Cambridge University Press.

The contribution for the course (for 1 year) is 25 euro for (BA/MA) students and 50 euro for others (to be paid prior to the beginning of the courses - details to be communicated).

If you are interested in enrolling in one of these courses please fill the registration form:  dutch.chaplain.nl by 6 September 2020 (after this deadline demands will be considered only in exceptional cases). 

After collecting the demands we will  get back to you with all the necessary practical details. 

Tilburg University Chaplaincy organizes

• annual excursion to the most beautiful church of the Netherlands, St. John's Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch (6 February 2021), to the Kröller Müller Van Gogh Museum (26 September 2020), and to the Holy Land (5-12 April 2021)
• a nocturnal pilgrimage in June (26-27 July 2021)
• study weekends in the exams periods (f.e. 27-29 November 2020 [Covid-19 permitting])
• charity activities
• many other things

Feel free to come by to see what's happening!

A hospitable inn

The meeting room of student church 'Maranatha' regularly opens its doors for activities by students and student associations. Do not hesitate to ask about the possibilities.

University chaplain Fr Michael Peeters (1976) studied Slavonic languages and Law at Leiden University. After a year of working at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he went to Rome in 2001 to study philosophy and theology.

Since 2007 he is a Catholic priest and from 2006 until 2011 he worked in Russia: first in Siberia and then in Moscow.

In 2011 he came back to the Netherlands, and he is the chaplain of Tilburg University since September 2012.

University church 'Maranatha'

Prof. Cobbenhagenlaan 19

5037 DB  Tilburg

Telephone: 013-4675302

E-mail: studentenkerkmaranatha@gmail.com

Opening hours church: Sunday-Friday from 8 am until 6 pm

Opening hours secretariat: Tuesday from 1:30 pm until 5 pm and Thursday from 9:30 am until 1 pm

Bank account: IBAN NL76INGB0001945054 ; Subject: 'Maranatha Parochie'

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