St Mary's College, Oscott

07/09/2026

St Mary's College, Oscott is open to visitors, and we'd love to show you around: the Pugin-designed chapel, the grounds, and a community that's been forming priests for nearly 200 years. Whether you're discerning a vocation, simply curious, or bringing family along, a college tour is a relaxed way to see it all for yourself, with no obligation and everyone welcome.

📅 Upcoming tour dates: 23 September, 7 October, 21 October, 4 November
🔗 Book your place at https://bit.ly/4gPpYE1

Tag someone who'd enjoy a visit 👇

30/08/2026

Prayer is not a monologue, its a dialogue

In this Oscott Answers, Connor takes on a question worth sitting with: what actually is prayer? His answer moves past the textbook definition of prayer as conversation, towards something steadier: a disposition, a way of holding yourself before God that doesn't switch on and off.

Does that change how you think about prayer?

11/08/2026

🗝️ Hidden Treasures: the Casket of Relics

This beautiful velvet casket has quite a story to tell. Oscott volunteer Judith takes us through it in this month's Hidden Treasures video — it was used to hold the bones of St Chad, relics that were hidden away during the Reformation and kept safe by Jesuit priests when it was too dangerous for Catholics to practise their faith openly.

Our curator Naomi points out the finer details: a faded imprint on the lid, a shadow of where an older seal or plate once sat, and the original wax seal and ribbon still in place — used to secure the casket and prove it hadn't been tampered with.

It wasn't until the mid-1800s, once Catholics were allowed to worship freely again, that Chad's relics found a permanent home in the reliquary at St Chad's Cathedral, where they remain today.

A small object with centuries of history folded into it. Watch the full story in our video above, with thanks to Judith and Naomi for sharing it with us 👆

25/07/2026

Are you here WeBelieve Festival 2026? The Festival is in full swing and the grounds of our seminary are once again full of families, religious, priests, creatives, preachers and teachers, volunteers, and of course Oscott staff and seminarians - all of us here to celebrate and deepen in our Catholic faith together 🙏

23/07/2026

An Eventful Month at Oscott!🎪

July is always a joyful month in the Oscott calendar, as members of the community travel to different parts of the country to be present at the priestly ordinations of men who have been formed here. This year we’ve been to Northampton, Shrewsbury, East Anglia and Birmingham for ordinations in these dioceses. Each has been a wonderful occasion, with full churches and much love evident for the faith, for the priesthood and for the men being ordained. At each ordination, a man commits himself to his new ministry; even more importantly, God gives the grace the man will need for the work he will undertake. On the day of his ordination, no priest knows what joys and struggles lie ahead of him. But he can be sure that, at that very moment, God offers him the grace he will need for whatever the years will bring. Please keep our new priests in your prayers. Ad multos annos!

The latter part of July is given over to another joyful expression of our Catholic faith, in all its rich diversity: the WeBelieve festival. Last year we welcomed over 2000 people to the seminary for the inaugural event, and this year we’re once again expecting big crowds. So many different expressions of our shared faith are evident at the festival: different liturgical rites from East and West; many of the religious orders who have a presence in our country; charismatic praise and quiet meditation. It was striking last year how many families were present, alongside individuals, couples and groups of friends of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. No other institution in the world has ever drawn together such a diverse group of people as the Catholic Church has, and in some way, that unity in diversity is expressed in microcosm at the festival. I hope you will be able to join us for the festival. If not, look out for reports, images and content shared online over the weekend and in the months ahead.

Will you be joining us for WeBelieve? If not, keep an eye on our page for photos and stories from the weekend👇

03/07/2026

🎶 Hear a world-class organist in Pugin’s spectacular chapel!

An afternoon of superb organ music at St Mary’s College, Oscott, with James Luxton, Assistant Director of Music at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

A distinguished organist, conductor and teacher, James studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and has held posts at St Chad’s Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral, St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, and Town Hall & Symphony Hall, Birmingham. His career has included broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, solo recital appearances, and the honour of playing during Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 visit to Oscott.

The recital will feature the College’s original organ — gifted by Birmingham industrialist John Hardman — heard in the magnificent Gothic chapel adorned by A.W. Pugin.

Refreshments will be served afterwards, so do stay for a drink and conversation.

📍 Sunday 5 July 2026
🕒 3.00pm – 4.30pm
📍 St Mary’s College, Oscott, B73 5AA

Book your tickets: https://bit.ly/4u1QVbg

Please note: there will be no Vespers in the chapel after this recital.

Discover what’s going on behind our walls. Explore our historic home on guided tours, grow in your faith at a formation event or join us for prayer in our renowned chapel.

22/06/2026

What does a 19th-century cardinal have to say about the rise of AI? As it turns out, a great deal 🤖✨

This May, St Mary's College, Oscott, hosted a deeply intellectual and timely symposium: Newman: Theology and the Imagination. The event brought together students and academics to explore how St John Henry Newman's profound thought addresses our modern crisis of truth, education, and human authenticity in the age of AI. From the vital role of person-to-person witness in education to the transformative power of beauty in evangelisation, read the full reflections on our blog.

🔗 Read the full post here: https://bit.ly/4e7rYpO

19/06/2026

HIDDEN TREASURES | The Portable Eucharist: A History of the Recusant Pyx

Taken from the Latin word 'pyxis' meaning 'box-wood receptacle', pyxes are designed to hold communion wafers consecrated during the mass and used to transport the Eucharist to those who were too sick to travel to Church to receive it.

Early pyxes were often small box-shaped objects with tightly fitting lids to avoid any accident to the communion wafers and were highly decorated with enamel, which was cheaper than using rare metals of silver or gold.

Pyxes were commonly used during the medieval period and were one item that was highlighted specifically for destruction during the dissolution of the monasteries and stripping of the churches from 1530 onwards. Very few genuine medieval pyxes survive. Several examples of pyxes survive in Oscott’s collection from the Recusant period and date from the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Given the mobility of Recusant Catholic life, pyxes were important objects and were small enough to be hidden in the clothing of a priest.

This unusual oval pyx dating from c.1600 is highly decorated with a chain edging and an engraved picture of the Crucifixion with the text ‘Ecce Quis Quanta Quare’ (Behold He who did such great things and for why) and the Pascal Lamb with the text ‘Ecca Agnus Dei Qui To’ (Behold the Lamb of God)

17/06/2026

“It just would not go away...!”

Before he was helping form future priests at Oscott, Fr Andy Richardson was an engineer wrestling with grief, drift, and a call from God he could not ignore. His vocation story is one of loss, grace, and discovering that Christ never stops calling.

Read the full story on our website: https://bit.ly/49cHluu

08/06/2026

Are you coming to WeBelieve? Tickets not booked yet? There’s still time. 🙌

This July, WeBelieve Festival 2026 gathers Catholics from across the country for four unforgettable days of worship, inspiring talks, prayer, music, community and joy. Whether you’re coming with friends, family or on your own, you’ll find a warm welcome waiting for you.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of something special!

24–27 July | St Mary’s College, Oscott
Book now! https://bit.ly/4vFMLHX