The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga (or Oxford Oratory for short) 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 ...
parish church for the centre of
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is located at 25
Woodstock Road, next to
Somerville College
Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...
. The church is served by the
Congregation of the Oratory
The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri ( la, Confoederatio Oratorii Sancti Philippi Nerii) abbreviated CO and commonly known as the Oratorians is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men (priests and lay- ...
.
History
St Aloysius' was founded as the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
(Society of Jesus) parish of central Oxford. Completed in 1875, the building of St Aloysius' was an important step in the ongoing 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 (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...
(December 1878 – September 1879). The church also housed a notable collection of relics bequeathed by
Hartwell de la Garde Grissell
Hartwell de la Garde Grissell (1839–1907) was a papal chamberlain and the founder of the Oxford University Newman Society.
Education
Grissell was born in 1839 as the son of Thomas Grissell, a prosperous public works contractor. He was educa ...
, 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
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. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...
. In 1990, the
Archbishop of Birmingham invited members of the
Birmingham 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.
Fr Robert Byrne then served as
provost from 1993 to 2011. From 2011 to 2019, Fr Daniel Seward served as provost. The incumbent is the Very Rev. Fr Nicholas Edmonds-Smith.
Liturgy
It is part of the tradition of the Oratory in England to ensure that the
liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
is celebrated in a dignified and worthy manner. In the Oxford Oratory most
Masses are celebrated in English, but on Sundays and Holydays a
non-Tridentine Solemn Mass is sung in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. Latin is also used in the
Tridentine Low Mass
Low Mass (Latin ''Missa lecta'', "read Mass") is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as a Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him. A ...
also celebrated on Sundays and Holydays, while the Parish Mass is sung in English.
Organ
The organ was enlarged between 1998 and 2004 by Matthew Copley. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Building
The church was designed by
Joseph Hansom
Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, '' The Builder'', in 1843.
Career ...
in a
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style. Much of the original interior decoration was painted over in the 1970s, and the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
moved forward. The building is being gradually restored as part of the Oratory's "Reaffirmation and Renewal" campaign, which commenced fundraising in 2007.
[Oxford Oratory Trust]
"Oxford Oratory - Reaffirmation & Renewal" campaign
accessed 25 February 2023
The church consists of a single
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and five side chapels. To the left of the sanctuary is the
Sacred Heart
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...
chapel, and the
Lady Chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...
is to the right. There are also chapels dedicated to
St Philip Neri
Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of th ...
(formerly
St Joseph's chapel) and
Our Lady of Oxford (also known as the
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
chapel). A shrine dedicated to St
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
after his
beatification
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
was established in 2010,
and there are plans to build a new
baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
.
[Oxford Oratory Trust]
New Baptistery
accessed 25 February 2023
Gallery
File:Oxford Oratory altar 2010-04-18.jpg, Church altar
File:Bernard Longley Oxford Oratory 3 2010-04-18.jpg, Church sanctuary
File:Oxford Oratory 1 2010-04-18.jpg, View of the altar
See also
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...
References
External links
*
The Latin Mass Society of England & WalesLatin Masses in Oxford*
{{Authority control
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom
Buildings by Joseph Hansom
Christian organizations established in 1993
Churches in Oxford
Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England
Grade II listed buildings in Oxford
Grade II listed churches in Oxfordshire
Oratorian communities in the United Kingdom
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1875
Roman Catholic churches in Oxfordshire