St. Aloysius Gonzaga (Oxford)
St. Aloysius Gonzaga ( Engl. Also briefly Oxford Oratory ) is a Roman Catholic parish in the English university town of Oxford . The neo-Gothic basilica was built in 1875 as a Jesuit church according to plans by Joseph Hansom and bears the patronage of the Jesuit Saint Aloysius . In 1990 the Archbishop of Birmingham transferred the parish to the Oratorians .
history
In the 1870s, the establishment of a Jesuit parish and church in the center of the traditional city of Oxford was a public sign of the revival of Catholicism in England. Many Jesuits were among the martyrs of the time of oppression . Well-known major donors were found for the building and its equipment.
In 1981 the Jesuits had to give up their branch in Oxford. The parish was initially run by diocesan priests until members of the Birmingham Oratory took over in 1990. In 1993 the new convent, after Birmingham and London the third in England, became independent. The community of John Henry Newman was thus also present in the city where Newman had once taught and where he had gone to the Catholic Church. The Aloysius Gonzaga Church has since become a center of liturgy.
Architecture and equipment
The Aloysius Church is made of yellow brick . It follows the Basilica scheme, the central nave disproportionately wide and the side aisles only narrow and jochweise are divided. A modest bell tower is attached to the portal facade with a large rose window .
The neo-Gothic colored painting was replaced in the 1950s and 1970s by a simple white and gray frame that emphasized the spatial structure. The stained glass windows, rich in figures, remain . The ceiling is richly ornamented, with a pointed barrel vault . The apsidial back wall of the altar forms the highlight of the furnishings . Both sides of the sacrament house like Tabernacle in the center includes a two-storey Fries 52 statues of holy men and women from the Bible and from the Roman and English church history. Above it is another row of tondi with the heads of saints.
organ
The organ was built by the organ builder Matthew Copley (Surbiton) in 2004. The instrument has 42 registers on three manuals and a pedal . The works are divided into two locations: Swell and Great as well as Pedal are located opposite each other on the choir stand, the choir work is on a newly built organ stage above the pulpit. The playing and stop actions are electric. Three registers in the pedal are vacant and prepared for later installation.
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- Coupling : II / I, III / I, III / II, III / III (sub-octave coupling), I / P, II / P, III / P
- annotation
- (v) = prepared for installation, currently vacant
Individual evidence
Web links
- History and description (online presence of the Oratorians, English)
- Description on British Listed Buildings (English)
Coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 33.6 " N , 1 ° 15 ′ 42.4" W.