Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary (Brompton Oratory)

Introduction

The church is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary but is better known as the London Oratory (or Brompton Oratory), the church of the Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in London. The church is a neo-classical late-Victorian Catholic church in the Brompton Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The church was designed by architect Herbert Gribble and built between 1880 and 1884, one of the largest post-Reformation Catholic churches in England.

History

To mark the silver jubilee of the founding of the Congregation an appeal was launched in 1874 to raise funds to build the present church. By March 1876 a design in the Renaissance style had been received from Herbert Gribble, a twenty-nine year old recent convert from Devon, who won a competition and was awarded a prize of £200. The foundation stone was laid in June 1880 and the present neo-baroque building was privately consecrated on the 16th April 1884. The church had cost £93,000 to build and in the following decade a further £14,000 was spent on the building.

The façade at the South end was not added until 1893 and the outer dome was completed in 1895-96 to a design of George Sherrin. The last major external work was the erection of the Newman memorial in 1896 (six years after his death). The present church was restored and redecorated to celebrate its centenary in 1984. The architectural style and atmosphere of the church were deliberately Italianate, in order to bring Saint Philip's romanità to nineteenth century London.

The founding Fathers of the London Oratory wanted their new church to be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary because of Saint Philip's devotion to Our Lady. Father Wilfrid Faber (1814-1863) was the founder, under Newman, of the London Oratory, coming from Birmingham to London in 1849.

Architecture and furnishings

The High Altar stands in a sanctuary some 70 feet deep and has escaped the ravages of some of the re-ordering schemes which followed Vatican II. The carved choir stalls are inlaid with ivory and together with the elaborately inlaid wooden floor were the gift of Ann, Duchess of Argyll to the first church, completed in 1854. There are two seven-branched candlesticks in the sanctuary, modelled on those in the Temple of Jerusalem as pictured on the Arch of Titus, the gift of the Marquis of Bute. The altar in St Wilfrid's Chapel is in the Flemish Baroque style and dates from the first half of the eighteenth century, originally the High Altar in the monastic church of St Remy at Rochefort in Belgium.

The whole chapel was given by Mrs Bowden as a memorial to Father Faber, first Provost of the London Oratory, and the body of Father Faber who died in 1863 was buried in the floor before the altar of this chapel in 1952. St Wilfrid's chapel also contains the altar of the English Martyrs, above which is the only known religious painting by Rex Whistler, a triptych showing SS Thomas More and John Fisher with an execution scene at Tyburn in the centre. SS Thomas More and John Fisher were canonised in 1935 and the Fathers commissioned this painting in 1938 to commemorate the event.

The baroque pulpit dates from 1930 and is the work of Commendatore Formilli, who is also responsible for much of the mosaic work in the building. St Philip's Altar designed by Gribble was the gift of the Duke of Norfolk and bears the arms of the Howard family. The Baptistery is decorated in an austere fashion imitating the effect of Florentine pietra dura, and the octagonal font in red breccia marble is a half scale reproduction of the one in Orvieto Cathedral.

The organ was completely restored and overhauled in 2004-5, scrupulously preserving its original tonal design. The Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School was founded in 1996.

The statue of Our Lady, known as Our Lady of Victories, is not part of the original altar but rather dates back to the earliest days of the Oratory in King William Street, London. The organ was built by J.W.Walker & Sons and completed in 1954, designed by Ralph Downes, Organist of the Oratory 1936-77.

Music and liturgy

Solemn Latin Mass and Vespers are celebrated on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation throughout the year. The great liturgies of Christmas, Holy Week and Easter attract packed-out congregations. The Oratory has three choirs and a music staff of four, including an organ scholar. The Choir of the London Oratory is the UK's senior professional Catholic church choir and sings for all the major Latin liturgies at the Oratory.

The Oratory also possesses a 2-manual, 16-stop instrument in the Little Oratory by Flentrop of Holland, built in 1975 and restored by the original builders in 2005. The Oratory also possesses a 3-stop chamber organ by Peter Collins of 1979, restored in 1998, in the sanctuary. The Pettman Organ Scholarship is for one year from September 2026, but can be extendable by mutual agreement to two. The Oratory has superb practice facilities: 1954 Walker/Downes (45 stops), 1975/2005 Flentrop (16 stops) and a 3-stop chamber organ by Peter Collins.

Parish life

The Oratory's young adults' group for ages 18-35 meets monthly, usually on Thursday evenings, in St Wilfrid's Hall. The Oratory runs a St Philip Neri Circle for men, meeting usually once a month in Oratory House. The Oratory has a Society of St Vincent de Paul group based at Oratory House. The Oratory has a St Philip's Servers' Guild based at Oratory House.

The Oratory has a book shop in the church porch. The Oratory publishes a parish magazine monthly. The Oratory has a primary school in Chelsea with a chaplain from the Oratory. The Oratory Outreach Programme aims to bring to London the work of St Philip Neri.

The Oratory seeks volunteers to help at Wandsworth Prison, supporting the Catholic chaplaincy. The Oratory runs a Christmas Lunch on Christmas Day for the elderly and lonely. Wilfrid's House, a charity set up in 2015 with the support of the Oratory fathers but separate from the Oratory, offers low cost psychotherapy and life coaching for adults.

Notable people and events

In 1846 Newman went to Rome to study for the priesthood and was ordained priest there on Trinity Sunday 1847, at the age of forty six. The English Oratory was founded in February 1848 in Birmingham, and Faber was sent to establish the Oratory in London in May 1849. In 1879 Newman was made a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church by Pope Leo XIII, choosing as his cardinalatial motto "Cor ad cor loquitur" (heart speaks to heart). Newman was taken to his eternal reward on 11th August 1890, and his funeral procession from the Birmingham Oratory to Rednal attracted crowds of 15-20,000 onlookers.

Visiting

A comprehensive walking tour of the church is available on the Rambl app, downloadable from the App Store or Google Play, with a QR code at the church entrance. The Oratory's youth group for ages 13-17 is open to all teenagers whether or not they are confirmed.