Editing St Benet's Hall, Oxford (section)

===Permanent private hall of the University of Oxford===
St Benet's became a permanent private hall of the university in 1918, after new university legislation created the status of PPH. It took as its official name ''Aula Privata Sancti Benedicti'': in English, "St Benedict's (or St Benet's) Private Hall". (Benet is a mediaeval English variant of the name Benedict.)  It was named after St [[Benedict of Nursia]] (c. 480–547), the founder of the Benedictine order, father of western [[monasticism]] and a [[patron saint]] of Europe and of students.

The character of the hall changed over the years, acquiring [[fellow]]s in imitation of the university's constituent colleges. However, as a PPH of the university, the hall's fellows did not constitute its governing body. Rather, they shared with the [[Master (college)|master]] the day-to-day running of the hall, and elected one of their number to serve as a trustee of the St Benet's Trust when that charity was founded in 2012. Before then, the hall was a private possession of Ampleforth Abbey.<ref name="The Tablet pp.9-11">The Tablet, 3 December 2023 issue, pp.9-11</ref> The hall [[matriculation|matriculated]] students to be members of the university, so those of its student body who matriculated were full members of the university in all ways, and were able to [[Degrees of Oxford University|supplicate for degrees]] on the successful completion of their studies. For most of its members the only noticeable difference made by the hall's legal status is that it was very much smaller than any of the Oxford constituent colleges.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

With the decline of monastic vocations beginning in the 1960s, more and more Roman Catholic laymen were admitted - especially under Master James Forbes OSB,<ref>{{cite web|last=Stacpoole|first=Alberic|title=Obituary of Fr James Forbes|url=http://www.plantata.org.uk/obits/griffiths/forbes_j.htm|publisher=English Benedictine Congregation|access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> including some Old Amplefordians. Under Master Philip Holdsworth OSB (1979–1989), the hall again emphasised a monastic ethos and also became more theological in character, with many monks from the [[English Benedictine Congregation]] and other Benedictine Congregations studying theology at [[Blackfriars, Oxford|Blackfriars]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Knollys|first=Bonaventure|title=Obituary of Fr Philip Holdsworth|url=http://www.plantata.org.uk/obits/wright/holdsworth_p.htm|publisher=English Benedictine Congregation|access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> Master [[Henry Wansbrough]] (1990–2004) started again to admit laymen, thus creating a mixed focus on theology, philosophy and the humanities.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

There was never a policy that lay members of the Hall, both undergraduates and postgraduates, should be Catholics - and in the 21st century most were not. However, all members were asked to be supportive of the monks' life and values.<ref name="autogenerated1">[https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/colleges/college-listing/st-benets-hall?wssl=1 St Benet's Hall - University of Oxford]. Ox.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2010-09-29.</ref>

A review of the PPHs conducted by the university in 2007 concluded that St Benet's had a "good sense of its place within the collegiate University" and drew attention to the "commitment and care" of the hall's academic staff.<ref>{{webarchive|title=Review of the Permanent Private Halls associated with the University of Oxford|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327142916/https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2007-8/supps/1_vol138.pdf|date=2018-03-27|accessdate=2020-07-24}}</ref> In May 2013 the Student Barometer survey results showed that St Benet's Hall had the highest overall student satisfaction score out of the 44 constituent colleges and permanent private halls of the university.<ref>{{cite web|last=Poulten|first=Sarah|title=PPH students most satisfied|url=http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/05/16/pph-students-most-satisfied/|work=The Oxford Student|access-date=8 December 2013}}</ref>