The Church of the London Oratory

Over the years, we have published many photos of liturgies at the London Oratory, but we have never done an article on the church per se. In honor of the feast of St Philip Neri, here are some pictures which I took when I was in London last year on pilgrimage with the Schola St Cécile. (We had the good fortune to stay in a place which is just a few blocks away, and therefore also close to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is next door to the Oratory.) I will have a separate post on a particular artistic feature of the Oratory which deserves special attention.

The church is officially dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the time of its construction, which began in June of 1880 with the laying of the cornerstone, the neo-Gothic style was very much associated with the Anglo-Catholic and ritualist movements within Anglicanism. The Oratory was therefore deliberately built in the Italian Renaissance style, with elements of the Baroque, partly to emphasize its Roman Catholic affiliation, and partly in honor of the origins of the Congregation of the Oratory. (Westminster Cathedral was built in the Romanesque style for much the same reason.) The façade will immediately remind anyone is who is familiar with Rome of both Sant’Agostino, one of the Eternal City’s most important Renaissance churches, but also of the Roman Oratory, Santa Maria in Vallicelli (still known to this day, more than four and half centuries after its foundation, as “Chiesa Nuova – New Church.”)

Likewise, the architecture of the interior is clearly inspired by any number of Roman churches of the Counter-Reformation; the gigantic order of the columns in the nave, which pass through one cornice to reach up to the second one under the clerestory, the side-chapels engaged deep within the side-aisles, and above all the dome, elevated and pierced with windows, are all very much reminiscent of St Peter’s Basilica, and the churches subsequently inspired by it.

The main sanctuary. 

The chapel of the Seven Sorrows, a devotion which was particularly dear to Fr Faber, one of the founders of the Oratory. It has traditionally been used as a funerary chapel, and as the focus of the activities of the Confraternity of the Precious Blood, a devotion which was very important in pre-Reformation England.

A bronze statue of St Peter, copied from the famous one by Arnolfo di Cambio in St Peter’s in Rome.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Oratory Canonically Established in Cincinnati

We have received news that the Cincinnati Oratory, which has been in formation since 2008, was formally and canonically established on the feast of St Joseph by a decree of the Holy Father. As you can see from the photos below, the Oratory takes the liturgy seriously, and offers the Mass in both forms with beauty and reverence; the OF is celebrated in Latin, English and German. NLM is very pleased to offer our congratulations to the community, and our prayers that their apostolate will continue to bear fruit for many years to come. Here is their press release.

“On March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, the Holy Father issued a decree establishing the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Cincinnati, a Congregation of Apostolic Life. The first congregation was founded by St. Philip Neri in Rome in the 16th Century. In addition to St. Philip Neri, the Oratory also counts Bl. John Henry Newman among its saints and blesseds.

The Cincinnati Oratory began the project of founding a house in Cincinnati in 2008, with the support of then Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk. In 2009, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, succeeding as Archbishop of Cincinnati, began supporting and working with the community of priests and seminarians to see the project brought to its completion. The current Procurator General, Fr. Mario Avilés, of the Confederation of Oratories throughout the world, has been the delegate from the Oratory since the beginning of the project to provide guidance and assistance. The Oratory is based in Over-the-Rhine at Old St. Mary’s Church.

In addition to Old St. Mary’s, the priests of the Oratory also minister at Sacred Heart Church, Camp Washington, Christ Hospital, Mt. Auburn, and the Hamilton County Justice Center, Downtown Cincinnati. This establishment brings the total number of Oratories in the United States to nine, with over seventy internationally.

The Oratory is a community of priests and brothers who do not take vows, but live a common life of prayer, apostolic work, and mutual support under a common rule. The community is composed of Fr. Jon-Paul Bevak, Fr. Adrian J. Hilton, Fr. Lawrence G. Juarez, Br. Brent L. Stull, and Br. Henry O. Hoffmann.

Fr. Jon-Paul, until now the Moderator, said: ‘We are grateful to the Holy Father for bringing this good work that was begun in 2008 to completion. We are also grateful to both Archbishop Pilarczyk and Archbishop Schnurr for their continued support throughout these past nine years. We thank Fr. Mario, and all of those who supported us with their prayers, donations, and friendship all of these years. We are excited to begin this next chapter in our history.’

The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, will offer a Mass on April 25, 2017 at Old St. Mary’s Church in Over-the-Rhine to celebrate the occasion and the delivery of the Holy Father’s decree. Further details will be forthcoming on the time of the Mass.

For more information, please visit www.cincinnatioratory.com. You may also contact Fr. Jon-Paul at jpbevak@cincinnatioratory.com.”

Fifth Centenary of the Birth of St Philip Neri

Just a brief notice that today, July 21, 2015, is the 500th anniversary of the birth of St Philip Neri. Although St Philip spent most of his life in Rome, moving there when he was 18, and there founded the Congregation of the Oratory, he was actually a Florentine. His lifelong attachment to and friendship with the Dominicans was formed in the city of his birth, at their church of San Marco, (which is likely to close soon.) Our best wishes and prayers to all of the Oratorian houses and their members throughout the world on this auspicious day!

“ST PHILIP NERI, rapt unto God, in the Host sees Jesus Christ bless those who are in prayer.”

Confirmation of the First Oratory of St Philip Neri in the Caribbean

Good news for Oratory watchers, like myself. I have just received a note from the Provost, Fr Michael Palud, CO that the Oratory of Port Antonio, Portland, Jamaica was formally canonically erected on the Feast of Christ the King. I have  of the first Oratory ever in the Caribbean.

The Delegate of the Apostolic See for the Oratorian Fathers, the Very Rev. Fr.Felix Selden, C.O. was present as well as the Procurator General of the Oratorian Confederation, the Very Rev. Fr. Mario Avilés, C.O.. The Mass was presided by the Archbishop of Kingston, the Most Rev. Charles Dufour, D.D. and concelebrated by diocesan and religious clergy. The two Emeriti Archbishops also concelebrated, Archbishops Donald Reece and Edgerton Clarke. It was a wonderful celebration. There were over 500 people present.

We wish them well and would like the community to know they are in our prayers. If anyone would like to donate, then I would encourage to contact the Provost, Fr. Michael Palud, at the following address and phone number:

Rev. Fr. Michael Palud, C.O.
Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri
Port Antonio Oratory
Saint Anthony's Parish
14 Queen Street Titchfield Hill,
Port Antonio Portland, JAMAICA
(876) 469-2542

Abp. Cordileone Leading by Example

Back in January, we posted a guest article by Roseanne Sullivan about the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship, newly founded in the archdiocese of San Francisco by His Grace Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Fr. Samuel Weber, O.S.B. Ms. Sullivan has just sent us some excerpts from two new articles which she has published in the current edition of The Latin Mass magazine; we are grateful to her and to the editors of The Latin Mass for permission to publish these excerpts.  

The Summer 2014 issue of The Latin Mass magazine has an interview with Archbishop Cordileone titled “Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone Leading by Example,” and an accompanying article titled “San Francisco’s Archbishop Cordileone and the Traditional Latin Mass.” The interview and the article give additional details beyond those that were previously available about the encouraging initiatives Archbishop Cordileone has been taking since he was installed, including steps to make the Extraordinary Form of the Mass more widely available in the San Francisco archdiocese and to improve the quality of liturgies in the Ordinary Form.

If you don’t subscribe to The Latin Mass magazine, you can read the full interview and article by clicking here. You might consider subscribing. As stated on their website, its editors are committed to “developing The Latin Mass journal into the intellectual arm of Catholics working for the return of the Church to tradition and authentic organic development.” It is informative, intelligent, and positive in its approach.

Some excerpts from the article “San Francisco’s Archbishop Cordileone and the Traditional Latin Mass” are quoted below.

His Excellency Salvatore Joseph Cordileone was installed as Archbishop of San Francisco on October 4, 2012 at the relatively young age of 56. During the year and a half since then, the energetic, articulate, and personable Archbishop Cordileone has taken several encouraging steps to make the traditional Latin Mass more widely available in his archdiocese. The archbishop has also taken several other initiatives to promote more-reverent liturgies in the Ordinary Form of the Roman rite, which will also be touched on in this article.
As he expressed in a recent interview elsewhere in this issue (see “Archbishop Cordileone Leading By Example”), the archbishop hopes that educating clergy and laity and exposing them to the beauty and majesty of the traditional form of the Mass will help make it less of a contentious issue and help enable it to be restored to a regular place in the life of the Church. His goal is also to make sure that Catholics in the San Francisco Bay Area come to better understand their liturgical tradition so they will be able to worship well in both forms of the Roman Rite.
Behind all of his work on the liturgy is his belief what he called the Benedictine vision, which is a shorthand phrase he uses to refer to the teachings of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on renewal of the sacred liturgy. .... 

Oratorians to Come to Star of the Sea

Archbishop Cordileone announced a few months ago that he was going to create an Oratory at a downtown parish. At an Oratory, parish priests live in community under a rule of life, and so the archbishop noted that the planned Oratory would need to be located in a parish with a large rectory. On April 25, 2014, the archdiocese announced that the St. Francis Oratory of St. Philip Neri would be established at Star of the Sea parish on August 1, 2014. Two priests will be the first Oratorians.
Fr. Joseph Illo, who will be leaving his current post as chaplain of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA, will take over as pastor. Like Archbishop Cordileone, Father Illo is quite familiar with the traditional Latin Mass, since he celebrated it regularly when he was a parish priest for 12 years at St. Joseph's Church in Modesto, California. After a six month sabbatical, Fr. Mazza will return to another assignment in the archdiocese.
In establishing the new Oratory, Archbishop Cordileone is responding to the Second Vatican Council’s call for diocesan priests to live a ‘common life or some sharing of common life.’ Father Illo described the Oratory life this way in a National Catholic Register article: The members of the oratory ‘will live together under a common roof, with a superior, and have a rule of life that includes common prayer, meals and activities for priests as they go out and perform their tasks in the diocese.’
Father Illo also said that ‘the oratory will not start in San Francisco until August, but he is already received inquiries from priests and seminaries all over the country.’
Fr. Illo made the following additional statement on his blog: ‘The Oratory is an Institute in the Church that allows “secular” (parish) priests to live in community under a rule of life. St. Philip Neri founded the Oratory in Rome in 1575 as a religious congregation of priests and brothers who lived in the parish of Santa Maria in Vallicella, now known as Chiesa Nuova, in downtown Rome. It provides a supportive rule of life for priests who desire a greater commitment to prayer in common. The most famous Oratorian Father for English-speakers is Blessed John Henry Newman, who brought the Oratory to England in 1848. Today there are 85 Oratories with 500 Oratorians in 19 countries. We would establish the first congregation of Oratorian Fathers in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. ….
We would build up the parish through beautiful liturgy and lay apostolate, but focus on evangelizing young adults. The Archbishop has mentioned possibly establishing a Catholic center in one of the larger office buildings with daily Mass and confessions.

For the Feast of St Philip Neri: The Oratory of Naples

The Naples Oratory was founded in 1586 by three disciples of St. Philip Neri, Antonio Talpa, Giovanni Giovenale Ancina (later bishop of Saluzzo, beatified in 1889) and Francesco Maria Tarugi (later cardinal), only 11 years after the Congregation of the Oratory was officially approved by Pope Gregory XIII. It was the Congregation’s first house outside of Rome, and since the founders came from the church where St Philip lived, San Girolamo della Carità, the Neapolitans have always called them the “Girolamini”. (“Girolamo” is Italian for “Jerome.”) It was immediately a tremendous success, and for centuries one of the most important religious institutions in Naples; the complex of buildings (including a huge church, two cloisters, one of which is also very large, and several smaller oratories) occupies a full hectare of land right in the middle of the city, across the street from the Cathedral. In its heyday, it was patronized by most of the important families in the city, which was then the capital of a large independent kingdom; it became famous for its art collection and magnificent sacristy. Like many of the great cultural and religious institutions of the former Kingdom of Naples, the Oratory has suffered much from various acts of suppression and confiscation; the center of Naples was also bombed during World War II, and a part of the complex which was damaged, the Oratory of the Assumption, is still in need of restoration over 70 years later. Nevertheless, the Girolamini remains one of the great monuments of St Philip’s apostolic labors, and those of his sons throughout the world.

The façade of the church, seen from the via dei Tribunali, the ancient decumanus maximus of Naples in Roman times.

The central nave seen from the door.

The coffered ceiling (partly missing) with an image of St. Philip.

The high altar.

An angel holding a candlestick at the corner of the sanctuary, carved by the Neapolitan sculptor Giuseppe Sanmartino, better known for the famous image of the veiled Christ in the nearby Sansevero Chapel. (see linked article)

The right side-aisle. As in many Italian Counter-Reformation churches, the side-aisles are deliberately arranged as a kind of blind that separates the side chapels from the central nave, so that the faithful would not be distracted from the principal ceremony at the main altar.

A side altar dedicated to St Charles Borromeo. St Philip and St Charles knew each other personally, and the latter made generous donations towards the building of the Chiesa Nuova, the Oratory of Rome; they are pictured together in the altarpiece. In the statue, St Philip is shown trampling on a cardinal’s hat, a symbol of the many ecclesiastical dignities offered him, and always refused. The two busts on either side may be Ss. Cosmas and Damian, since a church named for them was pulled down to make way for the Girolamini; when this was done in the Counter-Reformation period , it was often on such terms that the new foundation was required to preserve devotion to the titular saints of the old one.

The main side-altar of the left transept contains relics of St Ignatius of Antioch, and the Roman martyrs Ss. Nereus and Achilleus. Another disciple of St Philip, the renowned historian Cesare Baronius, was made cardinal of the church of Ss Nereus and Achilleus in 1596, and presumably donated these relics. (It was Baronius who read the commendation prayers for St Philip as he lay dying.) I have never before seen a sepulcher in an altar decorated like this.

An emblem representing the heart of St Philip, enflamed with the love of God, in the floor close to the main door. Neapolitan Baroque churches are often filled with this elaborate kind of mosaic known as entarsia, in which the pieces of stone are cut as much as possible in the shape the artist wishes to make, rather than into lots of tiny pieces which are then used to build the images. (Some kinds of stone, however, are too brittle for this to be very practical, and more, smaller pieces are used, as with the yellow stone around the heart.)

The small cloister though which one now enters the church, with the dome above.

The great cloister.

The dome of the chuch seen from the great cloister.

The façade of the cathedral, seen from the former buildings of the community.

On the right side of the Duomo is the large chapel of Naples’ Patron Saint, Januarius (San Gennaro), the relic of whose blood famously liquifies on his three feast days. The chapel houses over 40 silver busts of various Saints, including this one of St. Philip; these are often carried in procession though the heart of the city by various confraternities on the three feasts.

"The World Which Made St. Philip Neri" - A Series of Talks in Washington, D.C.

Beginning on January 27, St. Thomas Apostle Parish in Washington D.C. will offer a six-part series of talks on “The World Which Made St. Philip Neri”, exploring the relationship of St. Philip to the religious orders and movements of his time. Bringing together a Dominican, a Carmelite, and a Jesuit to discuss St. Philip’s historical connections with each of their orders, the series will also include presentations by members of the Oratorian Community of St. Philip Neri, a community in formation for the Oratory in the Archdiocese of Washington. Each talk will take place at 7 pm in the Parish Library.

Click here for the full schedule on the parish website.

“ST PHILIP NERI, rapt unto God, in the Host sees Jesus Christ bless those who are in prayer.” St. Philip was a great friend and admirer of the Dominican Order, and used to attend solemn liturgies of various kinds, Mass and Office, at their main church in Rome, Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

Two new potential Oratories in the USA

In my last post I mentioned two new communities in formation for the Oratory in Washington and St Louis. The Fathers in Washington DC have been resident at St Thomas, Apostle since 10 July. Here are links to further information about the one in Washington DC and the one in St Louis.