St Osburg's Church also known as the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament and St Osburg is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in Coventry, West Midlands. It was built from 1843 to 1845 and was designed by

Charles Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style. Career He was born to a Roman Catholic family in York. He was the brother of Jo ...

. It is situated in the city centre on the junction between Holyhead Road and the

Coventry Ring Road The A4053 Coventry ring road is a ring road in Coventry, England, which forms a complete dual-carriageway loop around the city centre. The road encompasses the old and new Coventry Cathedrals, the city's shopping areas and much of Coventry Un ...

. It was founded by the Benedictines from

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged 11 to 18. Both the abbey ...

and is a Grade II listed building.

Construction

In 1841, a monk of

, William Ullathorne OSB, came to Coventry from Australia, where he was Vicar General. When he arrived in Coventry, there was a small chapel, dedicated to St Lawrence and St Mary, on the site of the present church. He set about planning for the construction of the church and got

to design it. Construction started in 1843 and was finished two years later. On 9 September 1845, the church was consecrated by the

Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District The Vicariate Apostolic of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicar ...

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was an English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1 ...

. On 21 June 1846, Ullathorne became Vicar Apostolic of the Western District and the ceremony was held in the church, in attendance was

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

.St Osburg's Parish
from SsMaryandBenedict.org.uk, retrieved 12 December 2015

World War II

On 14 November 1940, parts of the city was bombed during an air raid. The church's roof,

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, east side masonry and all the windows and furnishings were destroyed. Until 1944, the church was in partial ruins. That year the chancel ruins were separated from the

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 ...

allowing services to temporarily resume.Aidan McRae Thomson
Coventry - St Osburg's
WarwickshireChurches.weebly.com, 2012, retrieved 12 December 2015 In the 1950s, all of the stained glass windows were replaced. They were bought from

Earley and Company Earley and Company (1861–1975) were ecclesiastical furnishings and stained glass manufacturers and retailers, based in Camden Street, Dublin, Ireland. In the 19th century they also had an outlet at 51 Lower Clanbrassil Street. The firm was one o ...

. Cardinal Bernard Griffin re-opened the Church when all the restoration had finished.

Parish

The Benedictines from Downside served the parish until 1926, when it passed to the monks of

Douai Abbey Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Upper Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampt ...

before being handed over to the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and much of ...

in 1992. In 2008, the Apostles of Jesus were invited by the archdiocese to serve the church and the nearby parishes. Priests from the Apostles of Jesus also administer St Elizabeth's Church and Saints Mary and Benedict's Church in the city. Saints Mary and Benedict's Church was also founded by the

English Benedictine Congregation The English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) is a congregation of autonomous Abbey, abbatial and Priory, prioral monastic communities of Catholic Church, Catholic Benedictine monks, nuns, and oblate (religion), lay oblates. It is technically the o ...

. Its foundation stone was laid on 9 February 1893 and it was opened on 21 November 1893. It was opened by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan. St Elizabeth's Church was designed by Harrison & Cox. It opened in 1912, and reconsecrated in 1962. There are two Sunday Masses held in St Osburg's Church: Saturday 5:30pm and Sunday 11.30am.Parish
from

, retrieved 12 December 2015 Saints Mary and Benedict's Church has its Sunday Masses at 9.30am and 11.30am and St Elizabeth's Church has its Sunday Masses at 9am and 11:15am. File:St Mary and St Benedict Church, Coventry by David Dixon Geograph 3577101.jpg, St Mary and St Benedict Church, Coventry File:WTC Jez Sutton jez-17.jpg, St Elizabeth's Church, Coventry

References

External links

Saints Mary and Benedict Parish site

St Elizabeth's Parish site

Apostles of Jesus site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Osburg's Church, Coventry Saint Osburg Gothic Revival architecture in the West Midlands (county) Grade II listed churches in the West Midlands (county) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1845 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches in the West Midlands (county)

Construction

World War II

Parish

See also

References

External links