The International Catholic Chaplaincy in Cologne is an English-speaking catholic community under the Archdiocese of Cologne which emerged from the Ghana catholic community in Cologne. Our community members are from Cologne city and its environs.

Cologne is a cosmopolitan city, but as big as the city is, Africans and other English speaking internationals do not have churches where they can have Holy Mass celebrated for them in the language they enjoy and are used to, which is English. Most of the churches within Cologne are German speaking churches. But prior to becoming International Catholic Chaplaincy, some members of our present community members used to worship with the Ghanaian Catholics community who were already organized and were having Masses in English language.

Since 2001 the International Catholic Chaplaincy Cologne came under Archdiocese of Cologne together with the International Catholic Chaplaincy in Bonn before International Catholic Chaplaincy Düsseldorf became one of the sister communities.

Father Thomas Healy from Ireland led the communities from 2001 until Father Stephen Oranuba from Nigeria came in January 2007 to replace him. Later, Father Gregory White from USA joined in January 2012 to become the leader of the three English-speaking catholic communities of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

The Cologne congregation was also a guest in various Cologne churches: From St. Mauritius, where it was when the congregation was founded in 2001, to the St. Ursula Basilica in 2012 and since December 2019 we have been worshiping temporarily in the St. Alban Church, in expectation of the completion of the church hall at St. Ursula.

Moving from church to church has affected our program schedules and Sunday activities as they depend on the time slot allocated to us by our host communities. Our Sunday Mass in St. Alban currently starts at 12:30 p.m.

Ours is a lively community with members from multinational, multiethnic and multicultural backgrounds who have catholic faith and share English as a foreign or native language. You are always welcome to be a part of this God's family when you move or make a short visit.

In all the three communities of Düsseldorf, Bonn and Cologne, Father Stephen Oranuba and Father Gregory White take turns celebrating Masses. However, each of the communities has its own secretariats. Whenever possible, the three communities organize programs together.

The members of our communities are indeed international. Cologne community has also grown from a few family and individual worshippers to over 200 active members from countries such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Germany, England, Eritrea, Ghana, India, Italy, Cameroon, USA, Kenya, Malawi, Spain, South Africa, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Uganda etc.

Every now and then we also have guest worshippers. These are the members of the community who come to us for a few weeks or months because of their short jobs or their studies in and around Cologne. As a result, the number of worshippers fluctuates, but our guest worshipers are also fully integrated into our activities for the short time they are around.

We encourage those who wish to become full members of the ward to register with the secretariat so that pastors can see how many new ward members we have, plan future programs for the ward, and also keep in touch with the ward members. The registration information is used internally.

Even though our Sunday services are held in English language, we also speak different languages due to our background. We also have different cultures which meet occasionally at community events. However, most of our children are born here in Germany and German is their first language.

Our cologne community also has different church groups but the most active among them currently are the Choir, the Lay Readers, Catholic Women Organization, Catholic Men Organization and Church/Parish council. Each of these groups has its own WhatsApp forum for a quick exchange of information. Prospective members should inquire about the contacts of the group administrators in order to join and receive updates

Although our Sunday masses are in English, due to the multi-ethnic nature of the community, the choir sings hymns in different languages such as Igbo, Zulu, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, German, French, etc. Most of our hymns are in English. Our musical instruments are mostly African percussion instruments, sometimes accompanied by a keyboard or an organ. Our choir has represented us on many occasions in pontifical high Masses both at the diocesan level and beyond.

Our choir is also constantly looking for new committed members both as choristers and instrumentalists

The choir usually meets two times a month for practice. Contact the office for more information.

The lay readers/Lectors are channels through which the Word of God becomes present through proclamation of the Word of God to the church. They read the first and the second readings as well as the prayers of the faithful. It is a difficult task, so we encourage constant reading practice and commitment to this call. The lectors must be in the church at least 20 minutes before the start of the Mass. In addition to being able to read English, it is important to be able to read in public.

The Catholic Women Organization is the women's wing of our English community, whose aim is to bring women together for common goals as they to look up to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as their Role Model. The CWO organizes the annual Mother's Day celebration, which is one of the most important events in the community's annual program. They also organize seminars and retreats for their members. They have CWO uniforms and are also registered with the national CWO.

The CWO meeting is not regularly. New meeting dates are announced to members via their official forums.

Just like the women, the men also have their own wing called the Catholic Men Organization (C.M.O). The group helps to promote the activities of the community for a better community living. Both married and single men who have come of age can become members.

The CMO usually meets quarterly except in urgent cases.

The church/parish council is an advisory body that was first elected in January 2016 to help our priests oversee the activities of the church community and its various groups. They investigate problems that arise in the community and advice on possible solutions. The council also deliberates and develops programs for the entire community for a calendar year.

The meeting of the church council is not regularly. It is usually announced to members except in urgent cases when we have emergency meetings.

Our community consists mainly of families with children. Although we do not currently have a youth/children's group, we value the well-being of the children as they make up a large proportion of the community members. Various programs for children are organized especially during the summer events where we have sports activities and other fun-programs. The children of our congregation love it here because they feel free. You also make lots of new friends.

Baptism, Marriage and Anointing of the Sick

Arrangements are made on an individual basis. You should contact one of the chaplains for counsel.

First Holy Communion and Confirmation

Preparation for First Holy Communion is available for children grades 2 and above and Confirmation for grades 10 and above. Classes are also offered for adults who would like to become Catholic or have not yet received certain sacraments. Since our children speak and understand German better, they are encouraged to join German communities for the preparation and reception of sacraments. Contact a chaplain or the secretariat for more information.

There are numerous ways to participate in our community life with different activities available to the community members. We organize social events like Mother’s Day celebration, Summer Event, Christmas Party etc. We also have lots of spiritual programs. Some of them are listed below:

We feel a special obligation to helping our children grow in their Faith. Although religious education is part of the curriculum in the German schools, the private schools which many of our children attend do not. Therefore, we provide classes for all age levels and interested parents may also assist in the program.

Every Sunday, the rosary prayer group says the Rosary immediately after the Holy Mass. Though some people wish to the have the Rosary said before the Mass, our current schedule will not allow that. The time may change when our current situation changes

The community started to organize Bible Studies in February of 2017. A platform for community members to sit down and share their views on bible passages and clarify some of the common misunderstandings which we (and some of our friends) have about the Saints, Purgatory and The Blessed Mother Mary and share our views about bible passages. The group has not been so active in recent times but it remains part of our community.