Birmingham Oratory
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
oratory
Oratory of Saint Philip Neri
The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a congregation of Catholic priests and lay-brothers who live together in a community bound together by no formal vows but only with the bond of charity. They are commonly referred to as Oratorians...
and church, on the Hagley Road
A456 road
The A456 is a main road in England running between Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow.-History:Much of the road is almost certainly medieval in origin...
, in the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
suburb of Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
The church was constructed between 1907 and 1910 in the Baroque style as a memorial to Cardinal Newman, founder of the English OratoryOratory of Saint Philip Neri
The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a congregation of Catholic priests and lay-brothers who live together in a community bound together by no formal vows but only with the bond of charity. They are commonly referred to as Oratorians...
. His papers are located here.
It was designed by the architect Edward Doran Webb
Edward Doran Webb
Edward Doran Webb was a British ecclesiastical architect. Based in Wiltshire, he worked on churches in Salisbury, Finchley, and Aldermaston. He designed Birmingham Oratory....
.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in Birmingham.
The Grade II listed church is served by the Congregation of the Oratory; who also serve the Brompton Oratory in London and the Oxford Oratory
Oxford Oratory
The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga is the Catholic parish church for the centre of Oxford, England. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road. The church is presently served by the Congregation of the Oratory....
.
J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, the author of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, worshipped here for about seven years.
The Oratory was visited by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, immediately after the Beatification Mass of John Henry Cardinal Newman which was held at Cofton Park, Birmingham, on the morning of Sunday September 19, 2010.
The Oratory Priests' Home
The Oratory Priests' Home (1850-1) fronting Hagley Road is a Grade II* listed building. It was the home (1852-90) of Cardinal Newman.Events of 2010
Early in 2010 Fr Paul Chavasse was removed after entering a “chaste but intense” relationship with a man.Shortly thereafter, two priests and a lay brother were removed from the Oratory: one, Fr Fenlon, being “forcibly exclaustrated” as he was unwilling to agree to his move. The Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
said that the three were popular with parishioners. It described their removal as "inexplicable" and reported the formation of a campaign group: "Free The Birmingham Oratory Three".