Back in London!

Just a quick apology for the lack of blog posts the last few days. Our internet connection was spotty. We spent the last few days in Birmingham, touring the local seminary and catechetical institute.

Our trip is quickly coming to a close, and we have a free day tomorrow to explore e city of London. It should be exciting hearing from all the guys when we get back as to what they all say. We leave on Thursday, so that means the the blog will be ending soon as well.

Here is a picture of Fr. Tom standing in the same pulpit that Bl. Newman once preached in at the local seminary.

Oscott Seminary - Birmingham

Some pics from our day in Oscott Seminary - Br Alvaro

More Birmingham pictures

Birmingham

Yesterday was our last full day in Oxford, and we left for Birmingham this morning for the final destination of our trip. Birmingham is home to an oratory that Bl. Newman opened up.

Once we finished our one hour train to Birmingham, we headed over to the oratory for morning Mass. We then visited the shrine of Bl. Newman in a side chapel to ask for his intercession to our prayers.

This afternoon we will be taking a guided tour of the church, so there will be more pictures to follow.

Last day in Oxford

We wrapped up our time in Oxford today, and we will be heading to Birmingham in the morning. Though we spent the majority of the time focused on Newman, it was not hard to experience the influence Oxford has had on the world. Many great minds have come to Oxford to learn and teach, and it was a privilege to enter into this wonderful world of academia for a bit.

Littlemore

Littlemore is a small town just past the outskirts of Oxford. While Newman was still an Anglican, he moved out to this village to live in a community with other members of the Oxford Movement. It was while he was here that he converted to the Catholic faith.

Arguably the world's foremost Newman scholar, Fr. Ian Ker, gave us two lectures today. We also had the chance to visit an Anglican church that Newman built, and we went to the grounds where Newman lived when he converted. His conversion sent shockwaves throughout all of England since he was one of the most well known men in England at that time.

Here is a picture of his bedroom:

The Bird and the Baby

JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis are well known for their contributions to the fantasy genre, most famously The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

These great intellects often found their inspiration amidst a pint and a pipe. One of there favorite places to partake of these commodities was a small pub right in Oxford, called the Eagle and the Child, or as they referred to it among friends, The Bird and the Baby. The group of friends that met there to discuss their writings together referred to themselves as "the inklings."

Last night we had a chance to have dinner in that very pub, which was a short walk from the church where had our lectures. There remains a plaque there today in the same nook where they used to meet. One of the men even made a lunch-time adventure to pay his respects at Tolkien's grave.

In Christ through Mary and Joseph,
Guest blogger, Adam Laski