150 Years of St Aloysius’ Church: (6) The Lady Chapel
The Lady Chapel is the principal place of devotion in our church to the Mother of Jesus. These side altars are places for private prayer and devotion as well as where priests celebrate Mass outside the regularly scheduled times. The statue of Our Lady of Wisdom was given to the church in 1914 and is by the distinguished firm of Mayer and Co. of Munich. The original altar in this chapel was by Morris and Co. and was of hammered copper and enamel in an Arts and Crafts style. Unfortunately no photographs of this altar exist.
As so often seems to be the case with the history of our church and the faith in our city, the loss of the original altar was simply a pruning that enabled even greater regrowth. The altar you see today — which looks as if it could have been designed for its current location — was originally in the chapel of the Ursuline convent school on St Giles, which then became St Benet’s Hall. The Ursulines and the Benedictines have both left Oxford, but the Mass continues to be celebrated on their old altar.
The chapel was redecorated in 2007, incorporating the monogram of Ave Maria, as well as the fleurs de lys, the traditional symbol of Our Lady’s purity. The window above the altar contains representations of titles given to Our Lady in her litany: Gate of Heaven, Morning Star, Mystical Rose, Ark of the Covenant, Tower of David, and Singular Vessel of Devotion. They are poetic titles, showing how the Virgin Mary, as the first disciple of Christ, free from original sin and totally dedicated to God, leads us to heaven.