AUSTRALIA’S first Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri began quietly in 2011, its future establishment only shared between God and a few holy men.
Within two years, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge granted permission for two Brisbane archdiocesan priests to begin the Brisbane Oratory in Formation Project.
In October 2013, Fr Paul Chandler and Fr Adrian Sharp officially announced their involvement in Australia’s first Oratory community.
Oratory communities are known as societies of apostolic life, and are founded under the guidance of the Confederation of the Oratory (based in Rome) and with the permission of the local ordinary.
An oratory offers priests a structured community, with common prayer and meal times, but with more flexibility than a religious order.
The emerging community in Brisbane includes three Australian diocesan priests and two seminarians.
Brisbane priests Fr Chandler and Fr Sharp welcomed Sale priest Fr Andrew Wise to the community in early March this year.
The oratory’s two seminarians are receiving formation at the Toronto Oratory, where they will continue for several years before returning to Australia to live with the Brisbane community.
One other oratory community member’s name cannot be identified due to pastoral reasons.
Archbishop Coleridge has not given a formal decision about the oratory’s permanent home in the archdiocese.
They are currently connected with the Ekibin-Annerley parish.
Fr Chandler said the bishops had shown remarkable generosity and a broad vision for the needs of the wider Church in Australia.
He especially thanked Brisbane Archbishop Coleridge for “warmly welcoming and encouraging us”.
“We thank him for his support, confidence and vision in giving this project for priestly community life a chance to succeed,” Fr Chandler said.
The Brisbane Oratory will be formally established next year.
