Masses in Michaelmas 2019

The Schola sang at some beautiful Masses this term, in a number of different places: Blackfriars, St Benet's Hall, SS Gregory & Augustine's in the Woodstock Road and as far away as Bedford.

Above is Dominic Bevan, who led most of these Masses; below is our guest director, Prof Peter Kwasniewski.

Term Card for Michaelmas 2018

Michaelmas Term 2018

(times refer to services, not rehearsals)

2nd Week

Advance rehearsal/audition: Thursday 18th Oct, 6:30pm

Saturday 20th Oct

Oxford Pilgrimage: Votive Mass of the Martyrs of Oxford University

11am, Blackfriars, St Giles Oxford

3rd Week

Friday 26th Oct

Votive Mass of St Gregory the Great

6pm SS Gregory & Augustine's, Woodstock Road, Oxford

Guest director: Prof Peter Kwasniewski

5th Week
Advance rehearsal: Thursday 8th Oct, 6:30pm

Saturday 10th Nov

Bedford Pilgrimage

Votive Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe

St Joseph's, Bedford

Guest Director: Matthew Schellhorn

7th Week

Saturday 24th Nov
Annual Requiem, St Benet's Hall
11am, 38 St Benet's Hall, St Giles, Oxford

8th Week

Wednesday 28th Nov

Votive Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe

6pm SS Gregory & Augustine's, Woodstock Road, Oxford

Last Masses of Term

The final Masses of term included an annual celebration in the historic chapel of Milton Manor House, where the schola sings in an unusual loft with windows opening into the chapel: below.

The last one of all was an unusual Mass of Reparation, a Votive Mass 'for the remission of sin', celebrated in SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford: above. Both of these Masses were led by Dominic Bevan.



And so another academic year comes to an end. This year the Schola Abelis has sung at a larger number of churches than in recent years. We now have a regular termly slot in the English Martyrs, Didcot, in Holy Rood, Abingdon Road, in Blackfriars in Oxford, and in SS Gregory & Augustine's, as well as annual events in Milton Manor, Caversham, St Benet's Hall, and Long Crendon.

The Schola also plays a major part in the general availability of singers with experience of Chant to come along and sing at other Masses taking place in Oxford.

In both ways we are fulfilling the purposes for which we were established: to make chant available for the celebration of the traditional Catholic liturgy in the Oxford area. We have also had a lot of fun along the way.

If you are reading this and are interested in singing Gregorian Chant in the 2018/19 academic year, contact us using the email address on the sidebar. We can also tell you about opportunities to sing, or hear chant sung, in Oxford over the Long Vacation.

Successful Masses this term

 

The Masses we have accompanied this term so far have been exceptionally interesting: notably, the Vigil of Pentecost in the Dominican Rite (above), and the Emeber Saturday of Pentecost (below), each with more chants than the standard Mass formulary, with Alleluia verses between the Prophecies in the 'vigil' part of the service. We provided relatively large scholas, of eight, for each of these occasions, which is particularly good going for the exam season.

Term Card for Trinity Term 2018

2nd Week

4th May, English Martyrs: 7:30pm

Church of the English Martyrs, Didcot

4th Week

19th May, Vigil of Pentecost, 10:30am

Blackfriars, Oxford

5th Week

26th May, Ember Saturday of Pentecost (Whit Saturday), 11:30am

Holy Rood, Abingdon Road, Oxford

7th Week

9th June, Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 11:30am

Milton Manor House, Milton, near Didcot

8th Week
Friday 15th June Votive Mass pro remissione peccatorum
6pm Sung Mass SS Gregory & Augustine’s

Holy Trinity, Hethe: the Traditional Mass returns

Archbishop Longley celebrating EF Pontifical Low Mass in January 2017, in Holy Trinty

I am pleased to be able to announce that thanks to the good will and hospitality of the Archdiocese and of the Parish Priest, Canon John Batthula, the Traditional Mass will once again be celebrated on Sundays at Holy Trinity, Hethe.

In the absence of a resident priest, there will be Sung EF Masses at Hethe at 12 noon on the 2nd Sunday of each month and on the last Sunday of each month. The first of these will be Palm Sunday, Sunday 24th March, to be celebrated, with the blessing of palms, by Fr James Mawdsley FSSP. 

Not having every Sunday covered is not the ideal but two Sundays a month is a very positive step, on which it may be possible to build. It is a very special church, and we have a very loyal schola and congregation which I hope can be preserved and nurtured.

Dominican Mass for St Thomas Aquinas

Accompanying this Mass last Saturday, singing Dominican chant, won our first (as far as I know) Twitter accolade:

Gary Paul H ‏ن

‏ @enternoon Jan 27

The singing was absolutely splendid, btw. Really beautifully done.

Glad you liked it!

Term Card for Hillary Term 2018

2nd Week

Sat 27th Jan Votive of St Thomas Aquinas, 

11am High Mass Blackfriars (Dominican Rite)

4th Week

Sat 10th Feb St Scholastica 

11:30am Sung Mass Holy Rood, Abingdon Rd

6th Week

Thurs 22nd Feb Chair of St Peter
English Martyrs Church, 15 Manor Crescent,
Didcot OX11 7AJ

Sat 24th Feb St Matthias

LMS Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Caversham

High Mass, 11:30amOur Lady & St Anne, 2 South View Avenue,

Reading RG4 5AB

8th Week

Wed 7th March Sung Requiem

6.pm SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford