St Benet's Hall (known colloquially as "Benet's") is a Permanent Private Hall (PPH) of the University of Oxford. Established in 1897 by Ampleforth Abbey, it is a Benedictine foundation whose principal historic function was to allow its monks to be able to study for secular degrees at the University. Today, most members of the Hall are not monks, but lay undergraduates and graduates. The hall, which is still owned by Ampleforth Abbey, has a Benedictine and Roman Catholic ethos. However, there is no requirement that members of the hall should be Catholics.