Oxford 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...
parish church for the centre of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 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...
. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road. The church is presently served by the Congregation of the Oratory.
St. Aloysius' was originally founded as the Jesuit (Society of Jesus) parish of central Oxford. Completed in 1875, the building of St. Aloysius' was an important step in the on-going refoundation of a Roman Catholic presence in Oxford. The parish was served by notable members of the Society for many years - including Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
. The Church also housed a notable collection of relics bequeathed by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell
Hartwell de la Garde Grissell
Hartwell de la Garde Grissell was born in 1839 as the son of Thomas Grissell, a prosperous public works contractor. He was educated at Harrow School and in 1859 matriculated to Oxford University as a commoner of Brasenose College....
, many of which were destroyed in the 1970s.
In the 1980s, the Jesuits left the church and the parish was taken over by the Archdiocese of Birmingham
Archdiocese of Birmingham
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church....
. In 1990, the Archbishop of Birmingham
Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville
Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville was the seventh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham from 25 March 1982 until his retirement on 12 June 1999, having formerly been a priest of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and chaplain of Fisher House, Cambridge.-Early career and priesthood:Maurice...
invited members of the Birmingham Oratory
Birmingham Oratory
The Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic oratory and church, on the Hagley Road, in the Birmingham suburb of Edgbaston in England.-History:The church was constructed between 1907 and 1910 in the Baroque style as a memorial to Cardinal Newman, founder of the English Oratory...
to take over the running of the parish and found a new Oratorian community in Oxford. Two priests from Birmingham arrived in September 1990 and, in 1993, the Oxford Oratory was established as an independent Congregation.
Liturgy
It is part of the tradition of the Oratory in England to ensure that the liturgy is celebrated in a dignified and worthy manner. Most Masses are celebrated in English, though MassMass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
is also celebrated every Sunday and Holyday in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in both the ordinary and the 1962 extraordinary form of the Roman Rite
Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite
"An extraordinary form of the Roman Rite" is a phrase used in Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum to describe the liturgy of the 1962 Roman Missal, widely referred to as the "Tridentine Mass"...
. There is also a said Latin Mass each Wednesday evening.
The main focus of the liturgical life of the parish is the Solemn Mass on a Sunday. As is the tradition of the English Oratories, it is celebrated in Latin (Ordinary Form) with both deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
and subdeacon
Subdeacon
-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
. The choir sings Mass settings in Latin and motets in many different styles.
Building
The church was designed by Joseph HansomJoseph Hansom
Joseph Aloysius Hansom was a prolific English architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style, who invented the Hansom cab and was one of the founders of the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843....
in a Gothic Revival style. Much of the original interior decoration was painted over in the 1970s, and the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
moved forward. The building is being gradually restored as part of the "Oxford Oratory - Reaffirmation & Renewal" campaign.
The church consists of a single nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and five side chapels. To the left of the sanctuary is the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
chapel, and the Lady Chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
is to the right. There are also chapels dedicated to St Philip Neri (formerly St Joseph's chapel) and Our Lady of Oxford (also known as the relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
chapel). There are currently plans to build a new baptistery and a chapel dedicated to Cardinal Newman after his beatification
Canonization of John Henry Newman
The Blessed John Henry Newman, CO was a Roman Catholic priest and cardinal who converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism in October 1845. In early life, he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots...
in September 2010.