Traditional Latin Mass celebrated at Oscott Seminary in England

The Traditional Latin Mass was offered this weekend at St Mary’s College, Oscott, a seminary in the Archdiocese of Birmingham that trains priests for dioceses across England and Wales. The celebrant was Fr Guy Nichols, priest of the Birmingham Oratory and the Founder and Director of the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music.

The Mass formed part of the “We Believe Festival”, a celebration of the Catholic faith in its many expressions, intended to bring the Church together in an authentic way. The event featured reconciliation services, a Mass of thanksgiving for the 175th anniversary of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales, jubilee celebrations, as well as talks and exhibitions from Catholic organisations across the UK.

The festival was made possible by the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, which supports hundreds of projects and initiatives within the Church through its grant programme and network of members.

Videos of the Extraordinary Form Mass show a crowded chapel and Sancta Familia Media, who covered the festival, described it as “packed out”.

The Mass was inline with the festival’s aim to promote unity in diversity by celebrating the treasures of the Extraordinary Form, while also honouring other expressions within the Church, such as the Charismatic Renewal.

It is not known when the Extraordinary Form was last celebrated at Oscott, though given the restrictions introduced by Traditionis Custodes, it is likely to have been several years.

The Extraordinary Form remains hugely popular across the United Kingdom, particularly among younger Catholics.

The seven Oratorian houses in England and Wales—renowned for their beautiful liturgies and doctrinal orthodoxy—currently have more brothers in formation than any diocesan seminary in the country. St Bede’s in London, which offers the Latin Mass daily, reportedly has a congregation with a median age of 22. Communities served by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, both of whom celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, have taken over nearly a dozen churches in recent years, often saving them from closure and revitalising local Catholic life.

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Photo credit: Sancta Familia Media

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