Exploring Oxford

It's been a pretty busy week since I've reported last, and I've got plenty of pictures to show for it!

On Tuesday, Nathan and I were able to do a bit of sightseeing around Oxford.  Because we aren't full students of the University, we don't have access to many of the libraries and colleges, but Emile was nice enough to take us around the university to see some of the highlights.  We went to visit the Bodelian library, which is the main library of the university and which is home to some gorgeous medieval reading rooms.  We also visited the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, which is the university's official place of worship and where Cardinal Newman was the vicar for a number of years and where he preached his famous University Sermons which touched on the relationship between faith and reason.

The pulpit in St. Mary's Church where Newman
preached his University Sermons

We were also able to climb to the top of the church's steeple, which affords a fantastic view of Oxford.  There are only about 160 steps (spiral stairs with a suspended rope to hold - much like climbing the dome of St. Peter's in Rome) but it is still one of the highest points in Oxford, and you can see all the way to the countryside beyond the city.

The Radcliffe Camera from the top of St. Mary's

Nathan and me in the steeple of the University Church

We also visited Christ Church College, which is one of the largest colleges at Oxford and boasts such famous alumni as Lewis Caroll, John Locke, William Penn, Rowan Williams, and W.H. Auden.  The college has a beautiful quad and a large dining hall, which was actually used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies.  Christ Church Cathedral, which is the seat of the local Anglican diocese as well as the college's chapel, is also quite beautiful.



Dining Hall at Christ Church College
(You might recognize it from the Harry Potter films)


We were also able to visit Oriel College, which is where John Henry Newman spent a number of years as a tutor and fellow after graduating from Oxford and before his conversion to Catholicism.  The Oxford Catholic Chaplaincy actually offered Mass in the chapel at Oriel, and afterwards, I was able to walk around the grounds of the college a little bit. Sadly, I was unable to visit the Oriel common room, which is where a great deal of Newman's own personal and intellectual formation took place, according to his biographer.

The main quad at Oriel College, where Newman taught

On Tuesday night, I also went to another meeting of the Newman Society and was able to hear a talk by Fr. Armand de Malleray, FSSP on devotion to Mary, which was quite enjoyable.

Wednesday was a pretty lowkey day, mostly spent in the library except for a nice mid-afternoon break to go down to the Thames River to watch the Summer VIII's rowing competition.  This boat race, in which the objective is to "bump" the boat ahead of you so as to move up in the standings, is part of a four-day regatta race which ends today.  On Wednesday, the St. Benet's team (which is composed of students from both Blackfriars and St. Benet's) didn't bump, but it also didn't get bumped, so it basically broke even.  Unfortuately, we got bumped on both Thursday and Friday, and we will see what today's race brings.  It was a beautiful walk down by the river, and there was a great crowd and fun atmosphere watching the race.

The St. Benet's/Blackfriars team

On Thursday, I spent some time in the library and also took a walk to check out some of the really cool used and rare book stores that are all around Oxford.  I spent a few hours browsing around, and I know that I have a few more afternoons left to spend in those stores before I leave!  In the evening, a bunch of the Blackfriars students went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant as a farewell gift for Fr. Michael Demkovich, O.P., an American Dominican who has been at Blackfriars for the year and who is returning the United States next week; it was great to be able to join them!

Nathan and Emile at dinner Thursday night

Friday was also a pretty busy day around here.  After a morning in the library and a trip back to the River to watch the boat race, Blackfriars, along with the other Catholic halls at Oxford, hosted the annual John Henry Newman lecture, which was delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson, who is the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican.  Cardinal Turkson spoke on "Faith and Reason in Public Life," and gave a very good account of the Church's understanding of the relationship between faith and reason and how these two come together in the Church's social teachings.  We were also fortunate enough to be able to meet the Cardinal after the talk!

Brogan, Nathan, Cardinal Turkson, me, and Kate after the lecture

Later that evening, I also attended a talk by Dr. Peter Colosi, an American theologian, who spoke about John Paul II's Theology of the Body and the conception of the human person and human relationships that it presents.

This weekend, I'm going to make a visit to Littlemore where Newman lived after leaving Oxford to see his rooms and library there, and on Sunday, I'll be headed off to the home of a Blackfriars alumna for a barbeque she is hosting for Blackfriars students.

Hope all is well on your side of the pond!

And finally, for those of you at home following my
culinary escapades, this was dinner on Wednesday,
and it was quite delicious, if I do say so myself.