Birmingham & Black Country Christmas Masses

The Adoration of the Shepherds by Bonifazio de’Pitati, sometimes called Bonifazio Veronese, c.1520-40.
Source: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

The Birmingham Oratory will celebrate High Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Christmas Day at 10.30am. Directions are in the sidebar.

There will be no 5.45pm Mass at the Birmingham Oratory on Christmas Eve to accomodate the OF Vigil Mass for Christmas. There will, however, be a Low EF Mass on Bank Holiday Monday (28th December) at 9am and High Mass for the Octave of Christmas on the 1st January at 12 noon.

May I take this opportunity to wish all readers a Happy and Holy Christmas.

Pontifical High Mass for the Immaculate Conception

Please do not forget that Pontifical High Mass will be celebrated at 7pm on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception by Bishop Robert Byrne Cong. Orat.at the Birmingham Oratory.

The Year of Mercy at the Birmingham Oratory

You may be aware that Pope Francis' Year of Mercy starts on the 8th December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Well there is some important news with regards to this at the Birmingham Oratory.

Firstly, preceding the Feast day itself, which of course is the patronal feast of both the Oratory and the Birmingham Archdiocese, there will be a novena composed of a daily EF Mass, at 5.45pm on weekdays. On the vigil of the feast, the EF Mass will be followed by Vespers at 6.30pm. Then, on the feast day itself, there will be a Pontifical High Mass presided by oratorian Bishop Robert Byrne at 7pm. For the Year of Mercy itself, starting during the rest of Advent, there will be a daily EF Mass at 5.45pm with confessions available.

In other news, the 9.30am Mass on Saturday will move to 7.30am during Advent and celebrated as a candlelight Rorate Mass. Similarly, the Friday 5.45pm Masses will be Rorate Masses.

Mass in Coventry

Fr Mark Higgins has contacted me to say that he will be celebrating an EF Mass at St Joseph the Worker, De Montfort Way, Cannon Park, Coventry CV4 7DU on Tuesday 1st December at 7.00pm. If you read the most recent copy of Mass of Ages you will be aware that there is currently no regular Mass in the whole of Coventry and Warwickshire and indeed currently there no LMS representative for the area. If you are in the area please try to support this one-off Mass and please inform anyone else who might be interested.

November Devotions for the Dead at the Oratory

With all the excitement over the first High Mass at St Augustine's in over one hundred years, I forgot to mention the additional High Mass for All Souls Day at the Birmingham Oratory. There were also five low Masses held during the day at 8.00am, 8.30am, 9.00am, 9.30am and 5.45pm. The 5.45pm time is significant: the Friday Mass at the Oratory has moved to this time from 6pm - during November this will be followed by Stations of the Cross for the Dead - and there is an additional low Mass at this time every Monday during November followed by Sung Vespers of the Dead. However, the last Monday (30th) will be part of the Novena preceding the Immaculate conception where there will be a daily Mass at 5.45pm followed by Pontifical High Mass presided by oratorian Bishop Robert Byrne at 7pm on the Feast itself. I will post details closer to the time.

Photos from the Solihull High Mass

Below are a few photos from the Solihull High Mass on Friday, believed to be the first High Mass at St Augustine's Church since 1939 when it was celebrated by Archbishop Williams for the hundredth anniversary of the church.

The recently (over the summer) ordained permanent deacon Kevin O'Connor performed the role of Deacon for the first time. St Augustine's is his home parish where he helped introduce a monthly last Friday Low Mass.

The Mass was celebrated by Fr Daniel Horgan, a Columban who is based in Solihull who celebrates the monthly last Friday Mass in the church.

The choir and servers, except for the MC and Subdeacon, were all trained by Deacon Kevin O'Connor from within the parish. The MC and Subdeacon are both from the Oratory parish, which holds a weekly High Mass at 10.30am on Sunday.

A full set of photos is available here. Unfortunately the quality of the photos is not very good- I am going to blame the age of the camera.

Votive High Mass of the Sacred Heart in Solihull

The usual last Friday Solihull Mass is cancelled tomorrow - instead there will be a Votive High Mass of the Sacred Heart in the traditional form on Friday 6th November at 6.30pm. This will be the first solemn High Mass at St Augustine’s since 1939, which was celebrated by Archbishop Williams for the 100 year anniversary of the Church. Many thanks to the recently ordained Deacon Kevin O'Connor for making this possible.

The photo above is from St Augustine's Church in Solihull, but is of the side chapel rather than the main altar.

Forty Hours High Mass of Exposition

The annual Forty Hours devotion starts at the Birmingham Oratory on Thursday with an Extraordinary Form High Mass of Exposition at 7pm.

The Halesowen Mass tomorrow has been cancelled because Fr Bruce is on retreat.

Oratory Mass Schedule Sept-Dec 2015

In addition to the normal weekly schedule of Masses on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Birmingham Oratory has the following events planned between now and the end of the year. The big event is the Pontifical High Mass on 8th December, but the 40 hours will be all EF as well.

September 
Tuesday 29th September 6:00pm 
Missa Cantata (EF) for the Feast of St Michael the Archangel. 

October 
Monday 5th October 6:00pm 
Missa Cantata (EF) for the Feast of St Luigi Scrosoppi. 

Thursday 8th October 6:00pm 
First Vespers (EF) of Blessed John Henry Newman.

Thursday 22nd October 7:00pm 
Solemn High Mass (EF) for the Opening of the Forty Hours Devotion, followed by Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Solemn Benediction. 

Saturday 24th October 4:00pm 
Solemn Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament (EF) followed by Procession and Solemn Benediction. 

November 
Monday 2nd November 7:00pm 
Solemn Requiem (EF) for All Soul’s Day. 

Friday 6th November 5:45pm 
Missa Cantata (EF) for the Feast of Blessed Salvio Huix Mirapleix 

December 
Saturday 5th December 9:30am 
Missa Cantata (EF) for the Feast of Blessed Anthony Grassi. 

Monday 7th December 6:00pm 
Solemn First Vespers (EF) for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

Tuesday 8th December 7:00pm – Pontifical High Mass (EF) for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrated by Bishop Robert Byrne. 

Friday 25th December 10:30am
Solemn High Mass (EF) of Christmas Day. 

Thursday 31st December 6:00pm
Vespers (EF) and Te Deum. 

The Provost did announce there would be a daily EF Mass during Advent at the High Mass on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - I will post further details when I get confirmation of this.

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Just a reminder that there is a 6pm Low Mass tomorrow at the Birmingham Oratory for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 There are now five resident priests at the Birmingham Oratory which means more masses are possible - this is the latest in a series of 'extra' 6pm EF Low Masses that have been celebrated as a result. Below are some picture from the Mass for the Nativity of Our Lady celebrated on 8th September courtesy of the Birmingham Oratory Facebook page:

I encourage you to attend these extra Masses if possible - who knows, if demand can be demonstrated the Birmingham Oratory may decide to make this extra provision more regular.

Eighth Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - the eighth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum coming into effect. There will be a 7pm High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory to celebrate the occassion. As it coincides with the 2nd Monday of the month, there will also be a 6pm Low Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in neighbouring Worcestershire.

The Birmingham Oratory will also have an extra 6pm Low Mass on Tuesday 15th September in honour of theFeast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Nativity of BVM

There will be a 6pm Mass in the extraordinary form at the Birmingham Oratory tomorrow to celebrate the Feast off the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Bank Holiday Mass/ Holiday Mass Reports

There will be an additional 9.30am EF Mass at the Birmingham Oratory on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Redditch Masses at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in neighbouring Worcestershire now take place on the second Monday of the month. In September, this will coincide with the eighth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum coming into force, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. There was a good turnout at this Mass in August, with around fourteen people turning up despite the fact it was in the middle of the holidays and some regulars were not able to make it.

Due to the holidays, the August  2nd Wednesday Maryvale Mass took place away from the usual location of the Maryvale Chapel and was celebrated at the neighbouring parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption instead. This is the second time the parish church has held the Mass: we also celebrated Mass there in April we could not contact the Bridgettines to let us into the chapel! It was perhaps apt, given it fell in the same week of the Feast of the Assumption, traditionally celebrated on the 15th August but transferred to the Sunday this year.

The EF being celebrated at Our Lady of the Assumption in April

Assumption of BVM

There will be two EF Masses for the Assumption at the Birmingham Oratory: you can either celebrate a Missa Cantata at the regular 9.30am Saturday Mass on the traditional date, or attend the High Mass as an external solemnity on the Sunday to which the feast has been transferred by the Bishops of England and Wales.

Summer Mass Cancellations

There will be no last Friday Mass at St Augustine's, Solihull tomorrow. Also the weekly Wednesday 12 noon Masses at Our Lady and St Kenelm will not take place on the 5th and 26th of August. The Mass should take place on the 12th and 19th as usual. These cancellations are reflected in the calendar in the sidebar.

SS Peter and Paul and the Most Precious Blood

The 10.30am High Mass today was a celebration of the External Solemnity of SS Peter and Paul. There will be a Missa Cantata tomorrow at 6pm for those who wish to celebrate the feast on the traditional date.

There will also be a Missa Cantata at 6pm on Wednesday for the Old Rite Feast of the Most Precious Blood.

I was lucky enough to be present for the ordination of Kevin O'Connor to the permanent diaconate today at St Chad's Cathedral. Kevin set up the monthly last Friday Mass in his parish of St Augustine's in Solihull, and has been a great help in keeping the 2nd Wednesday Mass at Maryvale going after the departure of Fr Paul Lester. There will be a thanksgiving Mass (OF) at St Augustine's tomorrow at 7pm if you missed the ordination.

Please note, due to holidays, there will  no last Friday Mass in Solihull in July, but it should return in August.

Fr Ian Verrier FSSP at the Birmingham Oratory

Fr (then Mr) Ian Verrier (Credit: Path Less Taken)

Earlier today Fr Ian Verrier FSSP celebrated his first High Mass at St James, Spanish Place in London. Fr Verrier is a former Anglican convert who was born in Birmingham - Mary O'Reagan of the Catholic Herald wrote an excellent article about him here.

I was pleased to hear earlier today (hence the late notice!) that tomorrow he will be celebrating High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory at 10.30am, and first blessings will be administered in the Newman Shrine afterwards. Another FSSP priest and two seminarians will also be in attendance. As Fr Ian is a former Music student, I am sure it will be a very beautiful celebration so do try and attend if you are able.

Corpus Christi 2015

Corpus Christi can be celebrated on the traditional day this Thursday with High Mass at 7.00pm at the Birmingham Oratory. The External Solemnity can be celebrated at 10.30am on Sunday. In neighbouring Worcestershire, there will also be a Mass at 10.45am on Sunday followed by a Corpus Christi procession at Spetchley Park.

The Octave of Pentecost 2015

There will be a daily Mass for the Octave of Pentecost at the Birmingham Oratory as follows:

Mon 25/05/15 9.30am Low Mass (Bank Holiday)
Tue 26/05/15 10.30am Low Mass
Wed 27/05/15-29/05/15 6pm Low Mass

As usual, there will be a 9.30am Low Mass on Saturday, and a 10.30am High Mass on Trinity Sunday.

There will also be a Mass on Friday at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton and St Augustine's in Solihull (both at 6.30pm - directions available in the sidebar). The Halesowen Mass has been cancelled this week, but you will be able to avail yourself to the extra Oratory Mass detailed above.

There will be an extra EF Mass for the (transferred) Feast of St Philip Neri at 6pm on 01/06/2015 at the Birmingham Oratory. Edited 26/06/2015 21.51: The usual first Monday Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Redditch will instead take place on the 15th June this month at 6pm.

Vigil of Pentecost

The 9.30am Saturday morning low Mass at the Birmingham Oratory will be a Missa Cantata to celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost. Pentecost itself can be celebrated at the usual 10.30am High Mass. Directions are available in the sidebar.

Ascension Thursday/ Sunday

Ascension Thursday can be celebrated at 7pm on the day itself, or the external solemnity at 10.30pm on Sunday at the Birmingham Oratory (both High Masses). Neighbouring Worcestershire will have a Low Mass at 5.30pm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Redditch, celebrated by Fr George Grynowski.

St George's Day

St George the Dragon Slayer by nun Agathe at the Benaki Museum, Athens

There will be a Missa Cantata at the Birmingham Oratory for St George's Day, 23rd April at 6pm.

Please note there is no Halesowen Mass tomorrow, and the last monthly last Friday Mass at Solihull is this week - details and directions are in the sidebar.

The Feast of the Annunciation, Passion Week, Holy Week and Easter

There will be no Mass at Halesowen for the next two weeks. However, there will be a 7pm High Mass on Wednesday at the Birmingham Oratory for the Feast of the Annunciation, with First Vespers in Latin on the 24th at 6pm.

The Last Friday Solihull Mass also takes place this week.

There will obviously be no Friday or Saturday Masses the week after next because this falls during the Triduum; however, there will be an additional Mass at Wolverhampton on Monday 30th March at 6.30pm.

There are two Masses, on Easter Sunday in the area, the 10.30am High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory and the 8am Low Mass at Wolverhampton - see sidebar for directions. There will also be a 3pm Mass at St Ambrose, Kidderminster in neighbouring Worcestershire, which will probably be Sung.

High Mass for the Solemnity of St Joseph

St Joseph's Altar, Birmingham Oratory (source)

There will be a High Mass at 7pm on Thursday 19th March at the Birmingham Oratory for the Solemnity of St Joseph. The Oratorian community invites you to their celebration of Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, particularly if you are a father, to honour the Patron of the Universal Church and implore his intercession for the Church today.

Changes to First Monday Mass in Redditch

Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Redditch (source: parish website)

It has been decided that the monthly Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Redditch will move from its current time to 6pm in future. The times on the calendar in the sidebar have been amended to reflect this.

The next first Monday Redditch Mass coincides with the Feast of St Chad on Monday 2nd March.

The next two coincide with the Easter Monday and May Day Bank Holidays; therefore, it has been decided to move these two Masses to the second Monday of the Month, i.e. Monday 13th April and Monday 11th May.

Please pass this information on to anyone who may be interested in attending - the times and dates published in the new issue of Mass of Ages are incorrect.

Ash Wednesday High Mass

The imposition of Ashes at a Latin Mass in West Bromwich, 2011

The Birmingham Oratory will be celebrating High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on Ash Wednesday (18th February 2015) at 7pm. According to the Latin Mass Society Ash Wednesday Mass listings, this will be the only EF High Mass on Ash Wednesday in the country - all the more reason to go!

The Halesowen Mass this week is cancelled.

Perhaps as our minds turn towards Lent suggestions for appropriate seasonal reading could be added as a comment to this blogpost?

Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Next Monday is the traditional end of Christmastide with the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is also the anniversary of the founding of the Oratorian family in England. The Oratory will celebrate a High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at 7pm. There will also a first Monday Mass in Redditch at 6.30pm.

This Friday 30th January, the regular Friday Mass at the Oratory will be a Missa Cantata in honour of Blessed Sebastian Valfre C.O. of the Turin Oratory. It is also the last Friday of the month, so the monthly Solihull Mass will also be taking place at 6.30pm.

Please also note there will be no Halesowen Mass for the next two weeks.

First Monday Redditch Mass Reminder

Just a reminder that the first Monday Mass in Redditch is this coming Monday. Numbers at this Mass are down partly due to the two servers leaving to become seminarians and another young member leaving for university, so your attendance would be appreciated if you have ever thought of attending. Directions are available on the parish website here.

The picture above comes from the parish Twitter feed, and was the sight that met our eyes after the consecration of the church by Archbishop Bernard Longley on 16th July last year. The caption on the image on Twitter quoted a very relevant piece of scripture: God said to Noah "I set my rainbow in the clouds, it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth" Gen 9:13. The Church was opened in 1848 and was originally served by the Benedictine monks of Downside and then Belmont before being taken over by the Archdiocese. The consecration of the church in this case means that the Archdiocese has officially taken charge of the church and the monks are not going to be returning.