The 150th anniversary of St Aloysius Church Oxford

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the opening of
the church of St Aloysius in Oxford. On that day in 1875 Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne of Birmingham celebrated a Pontifical Mass in the newly constructed Jesuit church in the presence of Cardinal Manning. This year on the eve of the anniversary the present Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham celebrated a Pontifical Mass in Latin in the Ordinary Form in the presence of Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe OP in the church, which since 1990 has served as the Oxford Oratory.

In attendance were other bishops, a mitred abbot, canons, groups of other religious, a professed Knifht of Malta, and past parish priests both from the diocese and the Oratory. Also present were the Lord Mayor of Oxford and the Vice Chancellor of the University, representives of othe churches in the city, and, of course, many of the regular congregation

The Mass can be seen online at 150th Anniversary of the Parish – Solemn Pontifical Mass 

The liturgy was elaborate and impressive as befits such an occasion and as befits the Oratorian tradition of the beauty of holiness. 

All the signs, and certainly the hopes, are that the next century and a half will continue the ministry of the building and the Oratorian community in Oxford in the way so splendidly shown at the weekend.