More House is the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

chaplaincy for the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

Heslington Heslington is a suburban village and civil parish within the City of York district, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, south-east of the centre of York. Before 1974, it was a village in the Derwent Rural District, which was pa ...

, York. The building itself dates from the late 18th century. The chaplains were formerly

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

friars resident in the building, but since 2021 priests from

York Oratory The Oratory Church of Saint Wilfrid, York (or York Oratory for short) is a Catholic church in York, England. A church dedicated to Saint Wilfrid has stood in York since medieval times. The church is known as the "Mother Church of the city of Y ...

have been ministering to the chaplaincy. It is located on Main Street in Heslington, which is towards the south edge of "Campus West". It is a Grade II listed building.

History

In the late 18th century, the house was constructed. From 1809 to 1814,

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...

lived there while his rectory in Foston was being rebuilt. From 1869, the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of St Paul's Church in Heslington had a vicar and the house later became a vicarage. At some point later, the house became owned by the

Diocese of Middlesbrough The Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese based in Middlesbrough, England and is part of the province of Liverpool. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley which ...

and renamed More House after Saint

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

. In 1967, the Catholic chaplaincy was started at More House. From 1995 to 2021 the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

served as chaplains to the Catholic community of the University of York. The Carmelites previously worked in York from 1250 to 1538 at

York Carmelite Friary York Carmelite Friary was a friary in York, North Yorkshire, England, that was established in about 1250, moved to its permanent site in 1295 and was surrendered in 1538. The original site was on Bootham in York until 1295 when William de Vescy ...

, but they surrendered their friary during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. In 2021, Oratorians from the Oratory Church of Saint Wilfrid in York were invited to minister to the chaplaincy, with Fr. Richard Duffield appointed as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

. The chaplaincy is used to host meeting of the University of York Catholic Students' Society, which occur every week during term time on Thursdays.

References

External links

*
University of York Catholic ChaplaincyYork Oratory
* {{Oratories of St Philip Neri in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in York Roman Catholic chapels in England Grade II listed churches in North Yorkshire Religious organizations established in 1967 University and college chapels in the United Kingdom University of York Roman Catholic churches in York 18th-century establishments in England History of York History of Catholicism in England Oratorian communities in the United Kingdom

History

See also

References

External links