More than 200 people gathered July 10 at St. Thomas Apostle Church in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the official establishment of the Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington as a Congregation of Pontifical Right.
During a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory and 12 archbishops and bishops from around the world, the announcement of the Decree of the Canonical Erection of the Oratory was greeted with loud applause by those who attended the late afternoon liturgy.
As a Congregation of Pontifical Right, the Oratory is now recognized as being approved by the Holy See by formal decree.
The decree was issued by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. At the Mass, the official announcement was read in Latin by Father Marco Guillen, a member of the congregation based in Toronto, Canada, who was elected in 2018 to be the delegate of the Holy See and apostolic visitor to Oratories worldwide.
“We rejoice that we are established in service to this archdiocese,” Msgr. Andrew R. Wadsworth, moderator of the local Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, said in his homily at the Mass. He said it was his prayer that at this “fledgling Oratory with a beautiful parish in this amazing city,” the faithful would find “a place of prayer … a place of encouragement where people will find what they need.”
The Mass was offered at St. Thomas Apostle because the Woodley Park parish has been entrusted to the pastoral care of the Oratorian Community of Saint Philip Neri.
The Congregation of the Oratory was established in 1575 by Saint Philip Neri, a much loved and holy priest known as the Apostle of Rome. The order was not established with a binding rule and vows such as those of the Franciscans, but was inaugurated as a society of priests and brothers connected by the bond of charity. According to its website, the primary end of the Oratorian life is the sanctification of the individual, the community, and those entrusted to its care.
One of its most famous adherents was St. John Henry Newman, a noted 19th century Anglican scholar and priest who converted to Catholicism and became a Catholic priest and later a cardinal. He was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis in 2019.
On July 10, 2013, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, then the archbishop of Washington, established the community-in-formation of the Oratory in The Roman Archdiocese of Washington. In February of this year, the Holy See recognized the archdiocesan community as an Oratory of Pontifical Right.
In addition to Msgr. Wadsworth, the Oratory established at St. Thomas Apostle Parish includes Father Richard Mullins, who serves as pastor of the parish; Father Joseph Tyson Murphy, who serves as the interim director of the archdiocese’s Office of Worship; and two brothers: Brother Benjamin Schulte and Brother Noah Sell.
Cardinal Gregory called the Mass “a joyous moment.” Concelebrants of the Mass included Cardinal Wuerl, the archbishop emeritus of Washington; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States and personal representative of Pope Francis; Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr.; and archbishops and bishops from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Canada.
More than three dozen priests also attended the liturgy.
During the Mass, Cardinal Gregory asked God to inspire the members of the Congregation of the Oratory to follow Christ “in the spirit of joy and humility of heart … (and) serve you and their brethren in faithfulness.”
He also prayed that the members of the Oratory “be of one mind in concern for each other, in encouragement to charity and good works, so that their way of life may be holy and demonstrate everywhere that they are true witnesses to Christ.”
In his homily, Msgr. Wadsworth thanked Cardinal Wuerl for “his kindness and support of our project” and thanked Cardinal Gregory for his “solicitude for our welfare” and who has been “in every sense, a partner in this endeavor.”
Msgr. Wadsworth said the priests of the Oratory strive to be like their patron, St. Philip Neri. “We want to be at the heart of things, but stay out of the limelight and to make things better,” he said.
He added that the people of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington can be “assured that we will pray for you … and our prayer with be that God richly blesses you.”
