OS grid reference SP0988894038 Country UK Website oscott.net Phone +44 121 321 5000 Founder Thomas Walsh | Location New Oscott, Birmingham Denomination Roman Catholic Dedication St Mary Founded 1388 Province Birmingham | |
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Address Chester Rd, Sutton Coldfield B73 5BB, UK Style Gothic Revival architecture Architects Augustus Pugin, Joseph Potter Notable alumni John Dalberg‑Acton - 1st Baron, Frederick Rolfe, St George Jackson Mivart, George Moore, George Ashlin Similar Maryvale Institute, English College - Rome, Ushaw College, St John's Seminary - Wonersh, Newman University - Birmingham Profiles | ||
St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales;
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Purpose
Oscott College admits students for the priesthood from various dioceses of England and Wales, as well as some students from overseas. The first three years of the academic programme are validated by the University of Birmingham as a BA in Fundamental Catholic Theology. Those who complete the six-year programme also obtain an Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) through affiliation with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Oscott College is also the diocesan centre for the formation of candidates for the permanent diaconate within the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Old Oscott
The college was founded in Oscott, in present-day Great Barr, in 1794 for both the training of priests and the education of lay pupils. It developed out of a small mission founded by Fr Andrew Bromwich around 1687.
New Oscott
In 1838 the college moved to a new site, which came to be known as New Oscott (and the original site as "Old Oscott"). The Maryvale Institute remains on the original site. The new building was designed by Augustus Pugin and Joseph Potter at a cost of £40,000. It is grade II* listed. The college quickly became a symbol of the rebirth of the Catholic faith in England and played a prominent part in the life of the Church in the 19th century. In 1889, the college was closed, but reopened the following year as a seminary only.
21st Century
After the closure of St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, Durham, in 2011, many of the dioceses in the province of Liverpool sent their students to Oscott to complete their training. This gave a boost in numbers at the college at a time when vocations seemed to be scarce.
Pope Benedict XVI visited on 19 September 2010 following the beatification, earlier that day in Birmingham's Cofton Park, of Cardinal Newman who stayed at the college in the late 1840s. During his visit to Oscott, Benedict met and had lunch with the Roman Catholic bishops of England, Scotland and Wales. The Oscott visit was the last scheduled event during the four-day 2010 State Visit of Benedict to the UK. The Pope would later depart the UK from Birmingham International Airport.
Choral music
A CD of choral music, Sedes Sapientiae, performed by The Schola and recorded live in the college's chapel on 7 June 2008, was released by the college (cat. no. OSCOTTCD01).