Welcome to the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Oxford

Sacred Heart Church in Blackbird Leys, Oxford is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. We hope that you will find our website useful and enjoy searching through the various aspects of life in the parish. Here you will be able to check our weekly newsletter, news and forthcoming parish events, read about how to go about with Sacramental preparation and find out Mass times and other services.

Whatever your reason for visiting us, we pray that God will bless your search and grant you many blessings

Parish Priest : Fr. Harry Curtis

(Also serving Our Lady of Christians, Cowley, 01865 770910)

E-mail : fr.harry.curtis@rcaob.org.uk

Parish Secretary : Reena Bartrip

10:00 am – 1:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Telephone : 01865 455182

E-mail : sacredheart.oxford@rcaob.org.uk

This Parish operates in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance and the National and Archdioceses policies & procedures at all times. At present, our Parish Safeguarding Representative is Onyi Anyanwu. She can be contacted at: sg.sacredheart.oxford@rcaob.org.uk or alternatively the Diocesan Safeguarding team can be contacted on 0121 230 6240/ safeguarding@rcaob.org.uk if you have any concern. For more details, visit the page Safeguarding.

Holyday of Obligation.  On Tuesday we shall celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.  It is a Holyday of Obligation when we are obliged to attend Mass if possible.

Christmastide ends next Sunday with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

The Christmas Crib Offerings.  The Crib scene depicting the Nativity helps us to focus on the Incarnation of Jesus and his love for the whole of humanity. All crib offerings will go to Friends of the Holy Land, which supports Christians in the Holy Land in order to maintain a Christian presence there. 

Here is a list of the dates of moveable feasts in 2026. (Holydays of Obligation are shown in bold print): 

Feast of the Epiphany, 6^th January.

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord., 11^th January:

Ash Wednesday, 18^th February.

Good Friday, 3^rd April.

Easter Sunday, 5^th April.

Ascension Thursday, 14^th May.

Pentecost, 24^th May.

The Body and Blood of the Lord, 7^th June.

St. Peter and St. Paul, 28^th June.

The Assumption of Our Lady, 16^th August.

All Saints, 1^st November.

First Sunday of Advent, 29^th November.

The Great Awakening – A Catholic Healing and Evangelisation Service. Saturday, 24^th January, 9.00-4.30, at Bethel Convention Centre, West Bromwich (B70 7JW). Awakening is a Catholic Evangelisation and Healing Convention organised by Anointing Fire Catholic Ministries UK.  This event is to rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit and renew our commitment to the mission of the Church.  The day includes Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, powerful preaching, praise, worship, and healing service.  Speakers include Bishop Timothy Menezes, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham.  For more details, please see the leaflets in the porch.  A coach will be going from Oxford (leaving 7.30 am).  If you would like to go, let me know.

First Holy Communion Lessons. People have been asking me about this so, parents, if your children are aged 8 or over they can receive their First Holy Communion next June.  Don’t worry! There is plenty of time.  I shall put out registration forms in January and preparation lessons will start at the end of February. 

Enquiries about the Catholic Faith will start again on Friday, 16^th January (please note, not this Friday) at 4.30 pm at Our Lady’s, in the Don Bosco Centre.

A Pilgrimage with Dr. John Henry Newman is Ready to Walk!

Phil McCarthy, of the Hearts in Search of God project, has developed a Pilgrim Way for the Archdiocese of Birmingham following St John Henry Newman’s spiritual path.  It is almost 40 miles long and follows St. John Henry Newman’s spiritual path, from Evangelicalism, through High Anglicanism and finally to Catholicism. The way starts at Deddington where Newman gave his first public address in 1825, via Over Worton, where he preached his first sermon as an Anglican priest. The walk continues through Oxford where Newman was educated, ordained as an Anglican minister and led the Oxford Tractarian Movement. The route ends at Littlemore where Newman founded a High Anglican church. Here in 1845, he became a Catholic.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from the 18th – 25th January.  This year the chosen theme is: One Body, One Spirit. The prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by the faithful of the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with their brothers and sisters of the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches.

Tailpiece: I rather liked a little notice that was in a parish magazine some time ago:

“We shall next meet on Wednesday, 11^th April, when the subject will be ‘Heaven.  How do we get there?’  Transport is available at 7.55 pm from the bus stop opposite the Harewood Arms’.”

So now we know.

Thank you all again for your Christmas offerings.

May God bless you in 2026. 

Fr. Harry

For more details please see the Newsletter for the week.