There will be a coach from the Oratory to St Chad’s Cathedral on 13th May for Fr Robert’s episcopal ordination. The ‘bus will leave from the Oratory at 8.30am, call at Pear Tree Services at 8.45am, and take us to St Chad’s for the Mass at 11am. (N.B. Pear Tree Services are adjacent to the Park & Ride but the ‘bus is not allowed into the Park & Ride itself) The ‘bus will leave Birmingham at 3pm.

There is a sign-up list in the Porters’ Lodge – please pay on booking (£12) and specify if you want to be collected at Pear Tree.

By popular request, the Parish Centre is now open after the ten o’clock Mass on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays for tea, coffee and a selection of tasty morsels. We will experiment with what to sell – so do feel free to make suggestions. Certainly you can buy a coffee less expensively here than anywhere else nearby! We opened for the first time on St Patrick’s Day, when Irish coffee featured on the menu.

The Holy Father has appointed Fr Robert Byrne to be an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The new Bishop will have responsibility for Birmingham and Worcestershire. He will be the titular Bishop of Cuncacestre (Chester-le-Street).

Please pray for Fr Robert as he prepares for his episcopal ordination. He will be the first Oratorian bishop appointed in England since 1874, when Fr Edward Bagshawe of the London Oratory became Bishop of Nottingham.

Fr Robert’s episcopal ordination will take place at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham at 11am on Tuesday 13th May. There will be a coach organised from Oxford – details to follow.

His Grace the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Bernard Longley, said:

“I am immensely grateful to Pope Francis for appointing Fr Robert Byrne Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham. From his time at the Birmingham Oratory and as Provost of the Oxford Oratory, Fr Robert has come to know our Archdiocese well. Having worked alongside him in recent years as the Bishops’ Conference’s Ecumenical Officer, I know that he will bring considerable pastoral, theological and administrative skills to his new responsibilities as a bishop. Above all I am grateful that he brings the spirituality of St Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratory, to enrich his ministry among us. I know that everybody in the Archdiocese, and especially in his pastoral area of Birmingham and Worcestershire, will join me in asking for the prayers of Fr Robert’s fellow Oratorian, Blessed John Henry Newman, as he now prepares for his episcopal ordination in May. I also wish to record my abiding gratitude to Bishop Philip Pargeter for continuing to serve the Archdiocese with great dedication in recent years and for the support and friendship he has so generously given me.”

An interview with Fr Robert may be seen
here

The Lent Flyer, detailing all services and other events in our church throughout Lent and Holy Week, is now available in the Downloads section as “Lent & Holy Week”.

Also included are details concerning our Parish Project this Lent which is the Oxford Food Bank.

The Parish Priest’s report, reviewing Parish life over 2013, is now available in the Downloads section.

On Shrove Tuesday (4th March) there will be a parish pancake party after the 6pm Mass in the Parish Centre. All are welcome: pancakes and soft drinks will be provided and the bar will be open.

If you shop online you can raise money for the Oratory Campaign without it costing you anything:

easyfundraising is the easiest way to raise money for Oxford Oratory. Shop with any of over 2000 well known retailers listed on easyfundraising.org.uk and a percentage of what you spend is passed to Oxford Oratory at no additional cost to you. Retailers include Amazon, M&S, Vodafone, eBay, Tesco, Viking and many more.

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‘Slaughter and Sacrifice’, a talk by Fr Daniel, this Sunday.

Meet in the parish centre after the Sunday evening Mass (about 7:30) for drinks (provided) and food (bring and share). The talk will begin at 8pm in the parish centre, and will end with Compline at around 9pm.

 

If you are aged 16–30, come along this Sunday to the parish centre at 7:30 for a Quiz night with free drinks. Ends with Compline around 9:00.

The Fathers held their triennial elections this afternoon.

Fr Daniel Seward was re-elected as Provost. Fr Dominic Jacob and Fr Jerome Bertram are the Deputies, with Fr Dominic as the Vicar and Fr Jerome as Secretary.