St Osburg's Church, Coventry

St Osburg's Church also known as the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament and St Osburg is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Coventry, West Midlands. It was built from 1843 to 1845 and was designed by Charles Hansom. It is situated in the city centre on the junction between Holyhead Road and the Coventry Ring Road. It was founded by the Benedictines from Downside Abbey and is a Grade II listed building.[1]

St Osburg's Church
Most Holy Sacrament and St Osburg Church
View of the back of the church
OS grid referenceSP3277879317
LocationCoventry
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationRoman Catholic
WebsiteSsMaryandBenedict.org.uk
History
StatusActive
Founder(s)Bishop William Ullathorne OSB
DedicationOsburh of Coventry
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Heritage designationGrade II listed
Designated24 June 1974[1]
Architect(s)Charles Hansom
StyleGothic Revival
Groundbreaking1843
Completed9 September 1845
Administration
DeaneryCoventry[2]
DioceseBirmingham
ProvinceBirmingham

Construction

In 1841, a monk of Downside Abbey, William Ullathorne OSB, came to Coventry from Australia, where he was Vicar General. When he arrived in Coventry, there was a small chapel, dedicated to St Lawrence and St Mary, on the site of the present church. He set about planning for the construction of the church and got Charles Hansom to design it. Construction started in 1843 and was finished two years later. On 9 September 1845, the church was consecrated by the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, Nicholas Wiseman. On 21 June 1846, Ullathorne became Vicar Apostolic of the Western District and the ceremony was held in the church, in attendance was John Henry Newman.[3]

World War II

On 14 November 1940, parts of the city was bombed during an air raid. The church's roof, chancel, east side masonry and all the windows and furnishings were destroyed. Until 1944, the church was in partial ruins. That year the chancel ruins were separated from the nave allowing services to temporarily resume.[4]

In the 1950s, all of the stained glass windows were replaced. They were bought from Earley and Company.[4] Cardinal Bernard Griffin re-opened the Church when all the restoration had finished.[3]

Parish

The Benedictines from Downside served the parish until 1992, when it was handed over to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. In 2008, the Apostles of Jesus were invited by the archdiocese to serve the church and the nearby parishes.[5] Priests from the Apostles of Jesus also administer St Elizabeth's Church and Saints Mary and Benedict's Church in the city.

Saints Mary and Benedict's Church was also founded by the English Benedictine Congregation. Its foundation stone was laid on 9 February 1893 and it was opened on 21 November 1893. It was opened by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan.[6]

St Elizabeth's Church was designed by Harrison & Cox. It opened in 1912, and reconsecrated in 1962.[7]

There are two Sunday Masses held in St Osburg's Church: Saturday 5:30pm and Sunday 11.30am.[8] Saints Mary and Benedict's Church has its Sunday Masses at 9.30am and 11.30am and St Elizabeth's Church has its Sunday Masses at 9am and 11:15am.

  • St Mary and St Benedict Church, Coventry
  • St Elizabeth's Church, Coventry

See also

References
  1. Roman Catholic Church of St Osburg, Coventry from British listed buildings, retrieved 12 December 2015
  2. Coventry-CatholicDeanery.org.uk, retrieved 12 December 2015
  3. St Osburg's Parish from SsMaryandBenedict.org.uk, retrieved 12 December 2015
  4. Aidan McRae Thomson, Coventry - St Osburg's, WarwickshireChurches.weebly.com, 2012, retrieved 12 December 2015
  5. SsMaryandBenedict.org.uk retrieved 12 December 2015
  6. Parish history from SsMaryandBenedict.co.uk, retrieved 12 December 2015
  7. StElizabethCoventry.co.uk retrieved 12 December 2015
  8. Parish Archived 23 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine from Archdiocese of Birmingham, retrieved 12 December 2015
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