October Events
The feast of St John Henry Newman, our Cardinal, is on Monday 9 October.
There will be a triduum of preparation, with prayers and benediction, at 6:30pm on Friday 6 October, at 6pm on Saturday 7 October, and at 5:30pm on Sunday 8 October. Also on Sunday, we will set out on foot to Littlemore at 7:15pm, following in the steps of Blessed Dominic Barberi to Newman’s College.
On the feast day itself, we will welcome Fr Paul Francis Spencer CP as our guest preacher at the Solemn Mass at 6pm.
The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in our church for forty hours, beginning with a Solemn Mass of Exposition on Friday 13 October at 6pm.
Exposition continues throughout Friday night and Saturday until midnight, with additional prayers and Masses taking place.
On Sunday 15 October, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed again after the 11am Solemn Mass. The Forty Hours ends with Solemn Choral Vespers, Procession and Benediction at 5pm.
Join us for a day pilgrimage to the Birmingham Oratory, the home of St John Henry Newman.
Newman founded the Birmingham Oratory in 1849, the first Oratory in England, and it was there that he lived for the rest of his life. The beautiful Oratory Church now houses his shrine, and the Fathers opened The Museum of Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman in 2019 to celebrate his canonisation. In the museum, pilgrims can see his possessions and manuscripts, including precious historical items such as manuscript pages of the Apologia and The Dream of Gerontius, the chalice with which he celebrated Mass and personal articles such as his spectacles and Rosary beads.
The coach will depart from Oxford at 10am. We will not be able to wait for pilgrims who are running late, so please arrive in good time. We will celebrate Mass in the Oratory Church when we arrive. Please bring a packed lunch. In the afternoon we will explore the shrine and museum. The coach will return to Oxford around 6pm.
This is a wonderful chance to grow closer to a saint who is so important to us, who shared our love of St Philip, who brought the Oratory to England, and who walked the same Oxford streets that we know today.
The cost of the pilgrimage is £20 per person. Book your place in the Oratory Bookshop, and be sure to leave your details in case we need to contact you. Card payments only.