St. Aloysius Gonzaga (Oxford)

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View of the church
St. Aloysius, Interior, Dispensing of the Sacramental Blessing
Equipment of the choir room

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.

I Great C – c 4
1. Bourdon 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Open flute 8th'
4th cello 8th'
5. Octave 4 ′
6th Stopped Flute 4 ′
7th Quint 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Fifteenth 2 ′
9. Sesquialtera II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
10. Mixture IV
11. Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
II Choir C – c 4
12. Violin diapason 8th'
13. Stopped diapason 8th'
14th Flute Celeste 8th'
15th viola 4 ′
16. Open flute 4 ′
17th Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
18th Principal 2 ′
19th Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
20th Clarinet 8th'
21st Vox Humana 8th'
22nd Trumpet 8th'
Tremulant
III Swell C-c 4
23. Celeste 8th'
24. Gamba 8th'
25th Gedact 8th'
26th Principal 4 ′
27. Concert flute 4 ′
28. Octave 2 ′
29 Mixture III
30th Contra fagotto 16 ′
31. Trumpet 8th'
32. Hautbois 8th'
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
33. Acoustic bass 32 ′
34. Double diapason 16 ′
35. Violone 16 ′
36. Sub bass 16 ′
37. Bourdon 16 ′
38. Octave 8th'
39. Bass flute 8th'
40. Fifteenth 4 ′
41. Mixture III (v)
42. Contra trumpet 32 ′ (v)
43. trombone 16 ′
44. Trumpet 8th'
45. Schalmey 4 ′ (v)
Tremulant
  • 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

  1. ↑ For more information on organ (English)

Web links

Commons : St. Aloysius Gonzaga (Oxford)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 33.6 "  N , 1 ° 15 ′ 42.4"  W.