View source for Blackfriars, Oxford

{{Short description|Dominican priory in Oxford, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox monastery
| name = Blackfriars Priory
| image = DominicanHall.PNG
| caption = Exterior of Blackfriars on [[St Giles', Oxford|St Giles']]
| full = Priory of the Holy Spirit
| order = [[Dominican Order]]
| established = 1221
| disestablished = 1538
| reestablished = 1921
| diocese = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham|Birmingham]]
| founder = [[Bede Jarrett]] (1921)
| prior = Rev. Dominic White O.P.
| dedication = [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]
| people = [[Thomas of Jorz]]<br>[[Timothy Radcliffe]]
| location = [[Oxford]], [[England]]
| map_type = Oxford (central)
| coord = {{coord|51.756121|-1.260206|display=inline,title}}
| public_access = 
| website = {{oweb|https://www.blackfriars.org.uk|Priory website}}
}}
'''Blackfriars Priory''' (formally the '''Priory of the Holy Spirit''') is a [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] religious community in [[Oxford]], England. Its primary work is the administration of two educational institutions: Blackfriars Studium, a centre of theological studies in the Roman Catholic tradition; and [[Blackfriars Hall]], a constituent [[permanent private hall]] of the [[University of Oxford]]. The current prior of Blackfriars is Dominic White. The name ''Blackfriars'' is commonly used in Britain to denote a house of Dominican [[friars]], a reference to their black ''cappa'', which forms part of their [[Religious habit|habit]].

Blackfriars is located in central Oxford on [[St Giles', Oxford|St Giles']], between the [[Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford|Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies]] and [[St Cross College, Oxford|St Cross College]].

== History ==
The [[Order of Preachers|Dominicans]] arrived in Oxford on 15 August 1221, at the instruction of a General Chapter meeting headed by [[Saint Dominic]] himself,<ref name="hibbert"/> little more than a week after the friar's death. As such, the hall is heir to the oldest tradition of teaching in Oxford, a tradition that precedes both the [[aularian]] houses of the next century and the [[Colleges of the University of Oxford|collegiate houses]] of the rest of the [[History of the University of Oxford|University of Oxford's history]]. In 1236, they established a new and extensive priory in the [[St. Ebbes]] district.<ref>{{cite book|first=Malcolm|last=Graham|title=On Foot from Carfax to Turn Again|series=Oxford Heritage Walks, 5|publisher=Oxford Preservation Trust|year=2019|isbn=978-0-9576797-6-4}}</ref>

Like all the monastic houses in Oxford, Blackfriars came into rapid and repeated conflict with the university authorities. With the [[English Reformation|Reformation]], all monastic houses, including Blackfriars, were [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|suppressed]]. The Dominicans did not return to Oxford for some 400 years, until 1921 when Blackfriars was refounded by [[Bede Jarrett]] as a religious house.<ref name=delany>{{cite journal|last1=Delany|first1=Bernard|title=Father Bede Jarrett, O.P.|journal=Blackfriars|date=May 1934|volume=15|issue=170|pages=303–312|doi=10.1111/j.1741-2005.1934.tb04225.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> The original priory building was designed by [[Edward Doran Webb]] and completed in 1929.<ref name="hibbert">{{cite book|title=[[The Encyclopaedia of Oxford]] | chapter=Blackfriars, the Priory of the Holy Spirit |year=1988|pages=43–44}}</ref> The Dominican studium at Blackfriars had a close relationship with the university, culminating in the establishment of Blackfriars as a permanent private hall in 1994.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brockliss |first=Laurence |author-link= |date=24 March 2016 |title=The University of Oxford: A History |url= |location= |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=560 |isbn=978-0199243563}}</ref>

== Blackfriars Studium ==
Blackfriars offers those preparing for the Catholic priesthood the [[Bachelor of Sacred Theology|Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology]] (STB) granted by the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas|Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'']] in Rome. It is also possible for lay men and women to begin the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas|Angelicum]]'s STB programme by studying in the Blackfriars Studium and to conclude the programme with at least a year's full-time study at the ''Angelicum''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dominican Studium: Introduction |url=http://www.bfriars.ox.ac.uk/studium_intro.php |website=Blackfriars, Oxford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709200414/http://www.bfriars.ox.ac.uk/studium_intro.php |archive-date=9 July 2013}}</ref>

== Notable Friars ==
* [[Malcolm McMahon]], [[Archbishop of Liverpool]], former Prior.
* [[Aidan Nichols]], first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at the [[University of Oxford]]
* [[Brian Davies (philosopher)|Brian Davies]] - philosopher
* [[Richard Finn]] - theology and classics scholar
* [[Timothy Radcliffe]] - former Prior, [[Master of the Order of Preachers|Master Emeritus of the Order of Preachers]], and [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]]
* [[Fergus Kerr]] - former Prior.  
===Burials at Blackfriars Abbey, Oxford===
*[[Robert Bacon (writer)]]
*[[Richard Fishacre]]
==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|title=
|width=240 |height=200
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Blackfriars entrance, Oxford.jpg
 |Entrance gate to the Priory surmounted by a statue of the [[Virgin Mary]] and inscription by [[Eric Gill]]
 |alt1=Blackfriars, Oxford
|File:The tower at Blackfriars, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 3808763.jpg
 |Courtyard and bell tower (prior to restoration works)
 |alt2=Blackfriars, Oxford
|File:Blackfriars Chapel, Oxford.jpg
 |Priory Chapel
 |alt3=Blackfriars, Oxford
|File:Blackfriars statue, Oxford.jpg
 |Alabaster statue of the virgin in the chapel 
 |alt4=Blackfriars, Oxford
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.blackfriars.org.uk Blackfriars Priory website]
* [https://www.bfriars.ox.ac.uk/ Blackfriars Hall website]
{{University of Oxford}}
{{Dominican Order in Britain}}

[[Category:Blackfriars, Oxford| ]]
[[Category:1221 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 13th century]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1921]]<!-- re-establishment -->
[[Category:Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Dominican education|Oxford]]
[[Category:Dominican monasteries in England|Oxford]]