The Upper Room Leadership Programme will take participants on a journey of profound discovery and formation, both practical and spiritual. Its aim is simple: to form young Catholic leaders who are the now in the Church, and to give them the tools necessary to lead young people in their parishes.
Over the course of a year, the young leaders will be given the necessary training for building and leading youth groups in their parishes, as well as growing in their own spiritual life.
The call to leadership is something vocational, and answering it brings great joy. We warmly invite you to apply, to begin this journey of discerning what the Lord is calling you to.
APPLICATIONS OPENING APRIL 2025
Programme Content
See the drop-down menu below for session details; please note that some dates may be subject to change, but any changes will be communicated with sufficient advance warning. During the candidate selection process, priority will be given to those who can attend all sessions.
October
Date: Saturday, 18 October 2025
Time: 17:00-20:00
Location: SPEC Retreat Centre, 125 Waxwell Lane, Pinner, HA5 3EP
We launch the course with our first session being held at the Retreat Centre here Pinner. In this session, we get to know our new ‘Upper Roomers’, and we dive into the WHY driving our journey over the next few months. The evening will include a workshop, a commissioning Mass, and a shared meal.
November
Date: Saturday, 22 November 2025
Time: 11:00-16:00
Location: SPEC Retreat Centre
Today we dive straight into our leadership training; you will leave this session with the practical expertise necessary to run an event for young people. Jesus calls us to grow in the spiritual qualities required to be great leaders, but he also called us to be grounded and responsible leaders. With this in mind, today we cover essential training in building safe spaces in which youth can thrive, and we will also complete the documentation required for you to take on a leadership role within a parish. Today’s meeting will also feature first Aid training, for which you will receive a certificate.
We will be encouraging you to either assist with, or launch, a youth group in your parish in February, and so today’s training is the first step in making that happen.
December
Date: Saturday, 13 December 2025
Time: 11:00-16:00
Location: SPEC Retreat Centre
Today’s session builds on the practical foundations we built last month, and further equips you with the tools and knowledge you will need to lead a youth group. As we approach the time when you will be involved in (or leading!) your parish’s youth ministry, you will feel ever more equipped to develop projects, run sessions, and bring young people to an encounter with Christ.
We will cover the ‘Four Fs’ of a great youth session, and will learn about how to construct a session from beginning to end in the planning stages.
January
Date: Saturday, 10 January 2026
Time: ALL DAY
Location: Central London (multiple locations)
With practical tools under our belts, in this month’s session we embark on a spiritual journey with the Lord, undertaking the Jubilee Pilgrimage, following the Westminster Way, through the streets of Central London. We will offer this pilgrimage for the youth of our parishes and for the mission we are collectively, and individually, undertaking to serve them and lead them to Christ.
February
Date: Saturday, 7 February 2026
Time: 10:30-15:00
Location: St Patrick’s Church, Soho
In today’s session, we walk around the local Soho area to reflect on the main themes and trends being communicated to the public, especially to young people, through public marketing and the environment. The second part of our session takes place in St Patrick’s Church coffee house, Manoppello, and will be a youth session planning workshop. Our workshop and discussions will be particularly influenced by what we have seen during our walks, reading the streets, as this will help us to be more in-tune with the needs of our young people. As we are approaching Lent, we will explore how we could help our young people to dive into this Liturgical season, through our thoughtfully-planned youth sessions.
We will also spend some time reflecting on our parishes, on the culture, community, needs, activities, opportunities… anything that tells us what Catholic world our young people are growing up in! You are going to be helping your young people flourish in this very environment, so it’s important to spend some time reading into it.
March
Date: Saturday, 7 March 2026
Time: 10:30-15:00
Location: SPEC Retreat Centre, Pinner HA5 3EP
‘Not all catechists are youth workers, but all youth workers catechise.’ Today we explore the principles of catechesis, we learn how to integrate catechesis into a youth session. We will take inspiration from extracts taken from Jesus the Master Catechist (Bill Heubsch).
April
Date: Saturday, 18 April, 2026
Time: 10:30-15:00
Location: SPEC Retreat Centre, Pinner HA5 3EP
We have build the castle of practical leadership blocks, and now we need to fill it with the Spirit; today we have a session all about prayer and building our relationship with God. We will examine leadership as a vocation, and reflect on how God has helped us to grow spiritually during the journey we have undertaken so far on this course.
May
Date: Saturday, 16 May 2026
Time: 10:30-15:00
Location: SPEC Retreat Centre, Pinner HA5 3EP
As we continue to look towards Lourdes and our task as chaplains to the young Redcaps, we turn towards Our Lady as our Mother and role model as leaders. Today we particularly look to Mary as the model of discerning leaders, and we examine why discernment is crucial for good leadership.
As this is our final training session before Lourdes, we’ll learn about how pilgrimage is an example of God’s leadership style. We’ll also cover some skills necessary for our chaplain duties in serving the diocesan Redcaps. These will include:
How to lead spiritual conversations
How to accompany young people in meeting Jesus
Evangelising through example
June
Date: TBC (towards the end of June 2026)
Time: TBC
Location: TBC
Lourdes is just one month away, and this month you will play a key role in helping to train and support other volunteers and leaders coming with us on the pilgrimage. This month we have the big Lourdes staff retreat, a day of community-building, discussion, prayer and preparation for Lourdes, in which you will be given roles to assist with the delivery of the day. You will also have the chance to meet, and learn from, volunteers with many years’ experience of the diocesan pilgrimage, and it will be a precious opportunity for you to grow and prepare.
FAQs
Who is it for?
Young people between the ages of 17-30
You must have turned 18 by January 2026
When is it?
October 2025 – July 2026
Why in person?
As Catholics, we believe that we are all members of one body, the Church, and that we are best able to build each other up when we are with each other. We also believe that the physical world is the REAL world, where word becomes flesh and lives among us. Communion, in the Eucharist and in our togetherness, is impossible to achieve digitally. We need to come together.
What if I don’t live in the Diocese of Westminster?
In the event that you live just beyond the Diocesan boundary, or you are temporarily living outside the Diocese but have a strong personal connection and are likely to return in the near future, we will consider your application.
Do I have to be Catholic?
In registering for this programme, you are beginning preparation for a Catholic leadership position, and so being Catholic is a requirement.
What’s included?
We are providing a 50% subsidy for the Lourdes pilgrimage. For the monthly sessions, if travelling to Central London could be a financial difficulty, we do not want this to prevent you from being part of the programme and are open to supporting. We will review this with you individually.
Please email youth@rcdow.org.uk if this applies to you or mention this in your application
