Our Lady Help of Christians

Introduction

Our Lady Help of Christians in Oxford was consecrated on 24th May 1967. The parish is dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians, the title by which St John Bosco honoured the Mother of God and patroness of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

History

From 1907 the Capuchin Fathers provided spiritual care from a Mass centre for Catholics living in East Oxford, dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, at their house in Crescent Road. The parish was officially established in 1910. The idea of a new church had first been raised as far back as 1926. The Salesians sold the house in Crescent Road to Oxford Council in 1986.

With the departure of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 2020 and the transfer to the care of the Archdiocese, a new chapter has opened in the parish's history. The building of St Dominic’s hall in the 1950s ensured that there was a social meeting space for the community and the funds raised through the parish socials helped build a new parish church. Throughout the 1930s the house was also a noviciate for young men who wished to join the Salesians as priest or brothers. During the war years the boys from the Salesian College, Battersea were welcomed as evacuees to Cowley and in 1945 the Salesian College, Cowley, which was to run until 1970, was established.

The Salesians also had pastoral responsibility for Catholics living in Littlemore and for the newly developed Blackbird Leys estate. In time both these areas were established as parishes in their own right. The Salesian Sisters arrived in Cowley in 1924 based at Elmthorpe Convent. In 1932 they opened an elementary school.

Our Lady’s School on Oxford Road has since been expanded with new buildings and, with the local re-organisation of education, it returned to its Primary School status. July 1999 saw the retirement of the last two Salesian teaching sisters teaching in the school and the appointment of a lay head. The school, however, preserves a strong Salesian ethos and spirituality, which is nourished by its connection with the parish and the sisters and the active involvement of a good number of Salesian Cooperators and Past Pupils.

The closure of St Dominic’s Club was a painful moment for many in the community, who remembered fondly the place it had in drawing the parish together. A new Parish Priest was inducted in the Autumn of 2020 with the dual responsibility of Sacred Heart Parish in Blackbird Leys.

Architecture and furnishings

The mosaic measures 10 feet high by 6 feet wide. The mosaic portrays Jesus, lifted high on the Cross, in the presence of our Blessed Lady, St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene. The hands of God the Father are depicted at the very top of the mosaic, pointing downwards. Mary's hands are joined in prayer, gently resting upon her heart. The mosaic is made up of thousands of small tiles, no two the same, some chipped or pitted with small holes.

Parish life

The statue of OUR LADY OF FATIMA is available to bring to your home. We are blessed with a CHURCH building and DAY CHAPEL – holy places where we can pause before the Blessed Sacrament and hear the gentle presence of the Lord rising in our hearts. During Lent, the parish follows the Stations of the Cross on Friday evening. The church remains open most days for short visits to pray and be still.