The Reverend Jennifer Adams-Massmann

Canon Steward and Archdeacon

The Reverend Jennifer Adams-Massmann is Canon Steward and Archdeacon of Westminster Abbey and took up her post on Sunday 5 April 2026.

As Canon Steward, Jennifer oversees and shapes the welcome and hospitality offered to the many worshippers, pilgrims, tourists and other visitors who come to the Abbey. As Archdeacon, she is responsible for the pastoral care of staff, volunteers, residents, worshippers and visitors.

Jennifer grew up in the United States and France and studied English and American Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, before completing a Master of Divinity degree at Duke University. She moved to Europe in 2002, living first in Germany and then in England. Since her ordination in 2007, she has served in overseas chaplaincies, hospital chaplaincy, and college chaplaincy in both Cambridge and Princeton.

She has served as Assistant Chaplain and Welfare Officer at Peterhouse since 2019 and was Acting Dean for the 2024/25 academic year. She is currently completing a PhD at the University of Heidelberg on women missionaries in eighteenth-century America, where she previously taught American religion to undergraduates.