Birmingham Oratory

Birmingham Oratory

Cardinal Newman Memorial Church
Monastery information
Full name	Oratory of St. Philip Neri
Order	Congregation of the Oratory
Established	1849
Dedicated to	Immaculate Conception
Diocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham
People
Founder(s)	Blessed John Henry Newman, C.O.
Prior	The Rev. Ignatius Harrison, C.O., Provost
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II listed building
Architect	Edward Doran Webb
Style	Baroque
Groundbreaking	1850 (original), 1907 (current)
Completion date	1852 (original), 1910 (current)
Site
Location	Birmingham
Country	England

The Birmingham Oratory is an English Catholic religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by the Blessed John Henry Newman, C.O., the first house of that congregation in England.

Part of the complex of the Oratory is the Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception, commonly referred to as the Oratory Church. It now also serves as the national shrine to Newman.

Newman, the founder of the Oratory, after his conversion to the Catholic Church was seeking a way of life to live out his vocation. In common with a colleague from the Oxford Movement and fellow convert, Frederick William Faber, he had felt drawn to the way of life of the community founded by St. Philip Neri in Italy in the 16th century. When Newman went to Rome in 1845 to become a Catholic priest, he was authorised by Pope Pius IX to establish a community of the Oratory in England.

Returning to England in 1847, Newman gathered a small community of his followers who also wished to live this life. They initially found a home in Birmingham at the Church of St. Anne on Alcester Street, which became the first house of an Oratorian community in England in 1849. A more suitable location was eventually located in Birmingham, and construction was begun of a residence and church. The Oratorian community relocated there in 1852. It became a parish church for the local area and has served the congregation in various ways through the decades.

The Oratory has a heritage of the promotion of great music in its worship. This goes back to its founder, St. Philip Neri, who believed strongly in the power of music for bringing out the good in people. The original Oratory in Rome was one of the great centres of sacred music for the city. The most celebrated singers and composers of the day would perform there. From this heritage comes the word oratorio. Right from its founding, the Birmingham Oratory has been noted for the high level of its music, due largely to the active interest of Newman himself. The parish continues to provide services which use the music of Palestrina, William Byrd, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Haydn, Mozart, as well as modern composers.