Oxford Oratory

{{Short description|Catholic church in Oxford, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Use British English|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox church |name = Oxford Oratory |full_name = Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga |image = Oxford Oratory Church interior.jpg |image_size = |imagelink = |alt = |landscape = |caption = Oxford Oratory |pushpin_map = |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_alt = |pushpin_mapsize = |map_caption = |coordinates = {{coord|51.759343|N|1.261763|W|display=inline,title}} |osgraw = SP 51049 07002 |location = Oxford |country = England |denomination = Catholic Church |previous_denomination = |religious_order = {{ubl | Oratorians | (formerly Jesuits)}} |churchmanship = |website = {{URL|oxfordoratory.org.uk}} |former_name = |founded = |founder = |dedication = Aloysius Gonzaga |dedicated = |consecrated = |events = |status = |functional_status = |heritage_designation = Grade II listed |designated = |architect = Joseph Hansom |architectural_type = |style = |groundbreaking = |completed = 1875 |construction_cost = |closed = |demolished =

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The '''Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga''' (or '''Oxford Oratory''' for short) is the Catholic parish church for the centre of Oxford, England. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road, next to Somerville College. The church is served by the Congregation of the Oratory.

==History== [[Image:Vatican flag half-mast Oxford 20050403.jpg|thumb|left|The entrance to the Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga (with the flag of Vatican City flying at half mast the day after the death of Pope John Paul II)]] St Aloysius' was founded as the Jesuit (Society of Jesus) parish of central Oxford. The building was funded by £7,000 donated by the Catholic convert Baroness Weld.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cooksey |first=Pamela |title=Weld, Jane Charlotte [known as Baroness Weld] (1806–1871), convert to Roman Catholicism and benefactor |date=2007-10-04 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-95696 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |access-date=2023-05-14 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/95696 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 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 (December 1878 – September 1879). The church also housed a notable collection of relics bequeathed by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell, 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. 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pope appoints Fr Robert Byrne as new Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham |url=http://www.catholicnews.org.uk/bishop-elect-robert-byrne |website=Catholic News |publisher=Catholic Trust for England and Wales|access-date=27 January 2017 |date=15 March 2014}}</ref> From 2011 to 2019, Fr Daniel Seward served as provost.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Provost Elected |url=http://www.oxfordoratory.org.uk/blog/post/1424-new-provost-elected/ |website=The Oxford Oratory |publisher=The Oxford Oratory Trust|access-date=27 January 2017 |date=2 February 2011}}</ref> 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 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 is also used in the Tridentine Low Mass also celebrated on Sundays and Holydays, while the Parish Mass is sung in English.<ref>[http://www.oxfordoratory.org.uk/mass-times.php The Oxford Oratory: Mass Times] (retrieved in August 2019)]</ref>

==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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=K00223 |title=The National Pipe Organ Register – NPOR |website=www.npor.org.uk}}</ref>

==Building== The church was designed by Joseph Hansom in a Gothic Revival style.<ref>Harris, Penelope, "The Architectural Achievement of Joseph Aloysius Hansom (1803–82), Designer of the Hansom Cab, Birmingham Town Hall and Churches of the Catholic Revival", The Edwin Mellen Press, 2010, {{ISBN|0-7734-3851-3}}</ref> Much of the original interior decoration was painted over in the 1970s, and the altar moved forward. The building is being gradually restored as part of the Oratory's "Reaffirmation and Renewal" campaign, which commenced fundraising in 2007.<ref name=r>Oxford Oratory Trust, [http://campaign.oxfordoratory.org.uk/ "Oxford Oratory – Reaffirmation & Renewal" campaign], accessed 25 February 2023</ref> Two 'lost' murals by Gabriel Pippet were restored in 2024 by Cliveden Conservation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Restoring the lost murals of Gabriel Pippet, The Oxford Oratory |url=https://clivedenconservation.com/project/oxford-oratory-church/ |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=Cliveden Conservation}}</ref>

The church consists of a single nave and five side chapels. To the left of the sanctuary is the Sacred Heart chapel, and the Lady Chapel 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 chapel). A shrine dedicated to St John Henry Newman after his beatification was established in 2010,<ref name=r /> and there are plans to build a new baptistery.<ref>Oxford Oratory Trust, [http://campaign.oxfordoratory.org.uk/p/new-baptistery.html New Baptistery], accessed 25 February 2023</ref>

==Gallery== <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

</gallery>

==See also== * List of Jesuit sites

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} {{oscoor gbx|SP510069}} * {{Official website|https://oxfordoratory.org.uk/}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071122093140/http://www.latin-mass-society.org/ The Latin Mass Society of England & Wales] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519120221/http://www.oxfordlatinmass.org.uk/ Latin Masses in Oxford] *{{NHLE |num=1369461}}

{{Oratories of St Philip Neri in the United Kingdom}} {{Archdiocese of Birmingham}} {{Former Jesuit Places in Britain}} {{Authority control}}

Category:19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Category:Buildings by Joseph Hansom Category:Christian organizations established in 1993 Category:Churches in Oxford Category:Grade II listed Roman Catholic church buildings in England Category:Grade II listed buildings in Oxford Category:Grade II listed churches in Oxfordshire Category:Oratorian communities in the United Kingdom Category:Archdiocese of Birmingham Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1875 Category:Roman Catholic church buildings in Oxfordshire