St Mary's College, Oscott
St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.[3]
| Oscott College | |
|---|---|
| St Mary's College, New Oscott | |
View of the college from the south | |
Oscott College Location of college | |
| 52°32′38″N 1°51′20″W / 52.543766°N 1.855451°W | |
| OS grid reference | SP0988894038 |
| Location | New Oscott, Birmingham |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | oscott |
| History | |
| Status | Seminary |
| Founded | May 1794[1] |
| Founder(s) | Thomas Walsh |
| Dedication | St Mary |
| Consecrated | 29 May 1838 |
| Associated people | Cardinal Wiseman Bernard Griffin |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* Listed[2] |
| Designated | 25 April 1952 |
| Architect(s) | Joseph Potter A.W. Pugin |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 25 April 1836 |
| Completed | 31 May 1838 |
| Construction cost | £40,000 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Birmingham |
| Archdiocese | Birmingham |
| Deanery | Birmingham (North) |
| Parish | Our Lady of the Assumption Maryvale |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Bernard Longley |
| Rector | Canon Michael Dolman |
Purpose edit
Oscott College admits students for the priesthood from various dioceses of England and Wales, as well as some students from overseas. The first three years of the academic programme are validated by the University of Birmingham as a BA in Fundamental Catholic Theology. Those who complete the six-year programme also obtain a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) through affiliation with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.[4]
Oscott College is also a centre for the formation of candidates for the permanent diaconate.
History edit
Old Oscott edit
The college was founded in Oscott, in present-day Great Barr, in 1794 for both the training of priests and the education of lay pupils. It developed out of a small mission founded by Fr Andrew Bromwich around 1687.
New Oscott edit
In 1838, the college moved to a new site, which came to be known as New Oscott (and the original site as "Old Oscott"). The Maryvale Institute remains on the original site. The new building was designed by Augustus Pugin and Joseph Potter at a cost of £40,000. It is grade II* listed. The college quickly became a symbol of the rebirth of the Catholic faith in England and played a prominent part in the life of the Church in the 19th century. In 1889, the college was closed, but reopened the following year as a seminary only.
21st Century edit
After the closure of St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, Durham, in 2011, many of the dioceses in the province of Liverpool sent their students to Oscott to complete their training. This gave a boost in numbers at the college at a time when vocations seemed to be scarce.[5]
Pope Benedict XVI visited on 19 September 2010 following the beatification, earlier that day in Birmingham's Cofton Park, of Cardinal Newman who stayed at the college in the late 1840s. During his visit to Oscott, Benedict met and had lunch with the Roman Catholic bishops of England, Scotland, and Wales. The Oscott visit was the last scheduled event during the four-day 2010 State Visit of Benedict to the UK. The Pope would later depart the UK from Birmingham Airport.
In 2023, the college hosted a seminar called "Rethink Abortion Day" led by prominent US-based activist groups. The seminar was based on building on the successes experienced by the Pro-Life movement in the United States and expanding their successes into the United Kingdom.[6]
Choral music edit
A CD of choral music, Sedes Sapientiae, performed by The Schola and recorded live in the college's chapel on 7 June 2008, was released by the college (cat. no. OSCOTTCD01).[7]
Notable alumni edit
Clergy edit
Bishops edit
- Francis Amherst (1819–1883), Bishop of Northampton.
- Tomás Bryan Livermore (1824–1902), Bishop of Cartagena
- Edward Bagshawe (1829–1915), Bishop of Nottingham.
- Terence Brain (1938–), Bishop of Salford.
- Kevin Dunn (1950–2008), Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
- William Lee (1875–1948), Bishop of Clifton.
- Leo McCartie (1925–2020), Bishop of Northampton.
- David McGough (1944-), Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham.
- James McGuinness (1925–2007), Bishop of Nottingham.
- Robert Willson (1794–1866), Bishop of Hobart.
- David Oakley (1955), Bishop of Northampton
Priests edit
- William Francis Barry (1849–1930), writer.
- Frederick Charles Husenbeth (1796–1872), writer.
- Henry Weedall (1788–1859), educator.
- William Purcell Witcutt (c.1910–c.1970), author.
Laity edit
- John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902).
- George Ashlin (1837–1921), architect.
- John Ball (1818–1889), Irish politician and naturalist.
- Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922), poet.
- Thomas Henry Burke (1829–1882), Permanent Under Secretary at the Irish Office.
- John Cornwell (1940–), writer.
- Charles Kent (1823–1902), journalist and editor.
- Edmund Kirby (1838–1920), architect.
- Nicholas Lash (1934–2020), theologian.
- Ernest Law (1854–1930), historian and barrister.
- Edwin de Lisle MP (1852–1920), politician.
- St. George Jackson Mivart (1827–1900), biologist.
- George Moore (1852–1933), novelist.
- Francis Loraine Petre (1852–1925), civil servant and military historian.
- Thomas Nicholas Redington (1815–1862), Irish political administrator.
- Frederick Rolfe, also known as Baron Corvo (1860–1913), writer and artist.
- Joseph Stevenson (1806–1895), archivist and editor.
- Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland (1861–1940), Prime Minister of Malta.
Former presidents and rectors edit
Presidents
- 1794–1808 John Bew
- 1808–15 Thomas Potts
- 1816–18 John Francis Quick
- 1818–25 Thomas Walsh
- 1825–40 Henry Weedall
- 1840–47 Nicholas Wiseman
- 1847–48 Henry F.C. Logan
- 1848–53 John Moore
- 1853–59 Henry Weedall
- 1859–60 George Morgan
- 1860–77 James Spencer Northcote
- 1877–80 John Hawksford
- 1880–84 Edward Acton
- 1885 Joseph Henry Souter[8]
Rectors
- 1885–90 Joseph Henry Souter
- 1890–96 Edward Ilsley
- 1896–1924 Henry Parkinson
- 1924–29 Charles Cronin
- 1929–35 James Dey
- 1935–61 Leonard Emery
- 1961–68 Richard Foster
- 1968–79 Francis Thomas
- 1979–84 Patrick Kelly
- 1984–89 Michael Kirkham
- 1989–98 Patrick McKinney
- 1998–2001 Kevin McDonald
- 2001–13 Mark Crisp
- 2013–20 David Oakley[9]
- 2020–21 Giles Goward
- 2021-Present: Fr Michael Dolman
See also edit
Further reading edit
- The Oscottian - Literary Gazette of St Mary's College, Oscott. Jubilee edition, 1888
- Oscott College in the Twentieth Century, Michael E. Williams, 2001, Gracewing Publishing (ISBN 0-85244-534-2)
References edit
- ^ Oscott History 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ British Listed Buildings
- ^ "Preparing Yourself". Portsmouth Catholic Diocese. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ UK Vocations Statistics 2013-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stewart, Katherine. "'If we can do it, you can do it': US anti-abortion groups ramp up activities in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Sedes Sapientiae CD insert
- ^ List of Superiors, Masters and Students
- ^ Williams Oscott College p. 183
External links edit
- St Mary's College website
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Historic England. "College (1075635)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "Statue of the Virgin Mary (1075636)". National Heritage List for England.