Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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"Brompton Oratory" is also the name of a song on the album The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

The Brompton Oratory, with Holy Trinity Brompton visible in the background

Statue of Cardinal Newman outside the church

The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly but incorrectly known as the Brompton Oratory, is a church in Knightsbridge, London. It is situated on Brompton Road, next to the Victoria and Albert Museum, at the junction with Cromwell Gardens.

Consecrated April 16, 1884, it stands 200 ft tall and is the second largest Roman Catholic church in London, after Westminster Cathedral.

Italian Renaissance in style, it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and splendid churches in London, with its superb marble columns and altar rails, its huge vaulted dome, its mosaics, and its carvings in wood and stone. In addition, it houses 12 statues of the apostles by Mazzuoli (1644–1725).

The Church belongs to and is served by the Congregation of Oratorians. There are two other Oratories in the UK, the Birmingham Oratory and the Oxford Oratory.

It has strong ties with the nearby London Oratory School, and serves as its 'official' church for all holy days of obligation.

[edit] Liturgy

The Oratorian Fathers emphasise the liturgy. Mass is celebrated every day in Latin in both the Novus Ordo and Tridentine rites. Every Sunday, mass is celebrated according to the Tridentine liturgy. Several priests from the Oratory attended the 2005 World Youth Day with Juventutem, a traditional Catholic youth group.

[edit] Parish Clergy

Fr Harrison (Provost), Fr Dilke (Parish priest), Fr Bowen, Fr Creighton-Jobe (Music prefect), Fr Doyle (dean), Fr Lang, Fr McHardy, Fr Barret-Lennard, Fr Fordham, Fr Large,