In the Footsteps of St. Philip Neri
Community turns out to celebrate establishment of Red Bank Oratory
July 12, 2024 at 10:06 a.m.
UPDATED: July 12, 2024
On the morning of July 7, more than 800 people gathered in and around the small church of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Red Bank for an extraordinary celebration: a Mass commemorating the canonical establishment of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, the first of its kind in the Diocese of Trenton.
The Mass of Thanksgiving was held three months to the day that the decree approving and canonically establishing the Oratory of St. Philip Neri at St. Anthony of Padua Church as a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right was signed at the Vatican.
PHOTO GALLERY: Establishment of Red Bank Oratory celebrated with Mass
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., who served as principal celebrant and homilist, reflected on what has been a decade-long journey undertaken by the priests and brothers of St. Anthony of Padua Parish. He credited, in particular, the dedicated leadership of Father Alberto Tamayo, C.O., Oratory provost and pastor of what is now called The Oratory Church of St. Anthony of Padua.
“As Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton . . . I have made this parish the Oratory’s home. With the approval and petition and blessing of their superiors in Rome, today, the Red Bank Oratory – by decree of our Holy Father, Pope Francis – is formally and permanently established in this Diocese,” Bishop O’Connell proclaimed in his homily.
Making History
The historic nature of the event was memorialized just before the Mass when Bishop O’Connell and Terry Ginther, diocesan chancellor, signed an official decree that reconfirmed the prior decrees and letters of agreement between the Diocese and the newly established Congregation of the Oratory. This decree permanently established St. Anthony’s Catholic Church as the seat of the new Congregation and entrusted the parish and church to The Red Bank Oratory, as the Bishop said in his homily, “forever.”
Representatives from the Confederation of the Oratory in Rome, Father Marco Guillen, C.O., apostolic delegate, and Father Michele Nicolis, procurator general, lent their official presence to the landmark celebration. After Communion, Father Nicolis read the decree from the Holy See and then presented it to Father Tamayo along with a relic of St. Philip Neri.
The process to establish the Oratory officially began in September, 2015 and on May 29, 2016, the Bishop celebrated Mass in St. Anthony of Padua Church during which he signed a canonical decree and Letters of Agreement establishing the relationship between the Oratory and the Diocese. The decree and letters also established St. Anthony of Padua Church as the church of the Oratory in perpetuity and permanently connected the parish of St. Anthony of Padua with the Oratory upon canonical erection by the Holy See.
Celebrating Mass with the community in 2016, Bishop O’Connell said, “Because of the special life of these … good men, as members of the Oratory, hopefully God’s grace will be even more apparent – nourishing you, the parish.”
A Community Celebrates
Parishioners, well-wishers, clergy and Oratorian officials all came out to witness and celebrate the inaugural chapter in the story of the Diocese’s Oratory of St. Philip Neri.
The 400-seat church was filled beyond capacity, while more than 200 individuals watched a livestream of the Mass in auxiliary spaces. Several hundred more people gathered outside in the extreme heat to listen via loudspeaker.
“They’re here and they’re happy,” Father Tamayo said.
Concelebrating the Mass along with Father Tamayo were the priests of the Red Bank Oratory, as priests of the Diocese of Trenton and those from Oratories in New York and Washington.
In his homily, the Bishop said the day marked the “fruit and fulfilment of 10 years of prayer and discernment and desire for Christ; a time when love has found entrance into the hearts of a small group of clergy and brothers in this parish who have lived and prayed and worked together as a community after the spirit and rule of St. Philip Neri and his first Oratorians in Rome.”
The Bishop recounted that St. Philip Neri and the Oratorians established their Oratory in 1575 to be a place of prayer from which experience of daily communion with God and fraternity, the Gospel of Christ was proclaimed and the charity of Christ was shared with the neighboring people of God who looked to them for inspiration and encouraging, for preaching the Word of God and the Sacraments … and more.
Bishop O’Connell shared that through his own reading and research during the past 10 years, he has come to “know and to love St. Philip Neri.”
“I have visited and prayed at his tomb in Rome, but (my affinity has come) even more through what I have seen and experienced through this community here in Red Bank,” the Bishop said.
“Let us pray together that the Oratory of Red Bank will flourish and grow, radiating the joy for which St. Philip Neri was always known, and leading all who come here to find the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Steve Cocco, a parishioner and member of the Secular Oratory, was among those who joyfully expressed what the Oratory’s establishment has meant for the Red Bank faith community.
During the reception after the Mass, he reflected on the history of St. Anthony of Padua Parish as a home for Catholic immigrant groups. The parish, he said, was initially founded to serve the Italian immigrant population and over the years it has become a faith home to the area’s growing Mexican Catholic population as well as the Anglo community.
“Today, there is a good blend of all populations” in age and nationalities who attend the parish, he said, adding, “they are all very devout in their faith.
“It’s a great community,” Cocco said, and now it’s great to know that the priests and brothers who are here at the Oratory “will be here forever …they made a lifelong commitment to this community.”
Lynda Rohrman, a parishioner for 25 years, finds the Oratory a great blessing.
“St. Philip Neri is a very joyful saint and our priests and brothers try to emulate his actions and attitude,” Rohrman said. “Father Al helps us and encourages us as followers of Jesus to put our faith into action and continue to help others in our community. It’s a beautiful way of life.”
Brother Donald Ronning, C.O., believes the Oratory has brought a sense of stability to the parish because the fathers and brothers who live and work in the parish for life is a benefit to both the people of the parish and the Oratorians,” he said. “The Oratory community is able to develop intimate, long-term, consistent, intergenerational relationships with the people of the parish. We become more family to those we serve and they to us.
The Oratory’s canonical recognition confirms the Holy See’s confidence “in our community and the work we are doing in the Lord’s name,” Brother Donald said.
“St. Philip Neri did not start out to form an Oratory, he wanted only to please the Lord by doing good and to bring others to love doing good with great joy,” Brother Donald said. “No one could have a better inspiration than to follow St. Philip Neri, the Apostle of Joy.”
Father Michele Nicolis, C.O., procurator general of the Confederation of the Oratory, holds up the decree from Pope Francis that formally establishes the Red Bank Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Mike Ehrmann photo Related Stories:
To read Bishop O'Connell's homily from the Mass of Thanksgiving, click here.
Red Bank Oratory receives canonical approval from Vatican
Find out more about the Oratory of St. Philip Neri:
-- History and timeline of the Red Bank Oratory
-- How do the Oratorians minister in the Red Bank community?
Related Stories
Saturday, December 21, 2024
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Events
UPDATED: July 12, 2024
On the morning of July 7, more than 800 people gathered in and around the small church of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Red Bank for an extraordinary celebration: a Mass commemorating the canonical establishment of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, the first of its kind in the Diocese of Trenton.
The Mass of Thanksgiving was held three months to the day that the decree approving and canonically establishing the Oratory of St. Philip Neri at St. Anthony of Padua Church as a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right was signed at the Vatican.
PHOTO GALLERY: Establishment of Red Bank Oratory celebrated with Mass
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., who served as principal celebrant and homilist, reflected on what has been a decade-long journey undertaken by the priests and brothers of St. Anthony of Padua Parish. He credited, in particular, the dedicated leadership of Father Alberto Tamayo, C.O., Oratory provost and pastor of what is now called The Oratory Church of St. Anthony of Padua.
“As Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton . . . I have made this parish the Oratory’s home. With the approval and petition and blessing of their superiors in Rome, today, the Red Bank Oratory – by decree of our Holy Father, Pope Francis – is formally and permanently established in this Diocese,” Bishop O’Connell proclaimed in his homily.
Making History
The historic nature of the event was memorialized just before the Mass when Bishop O’Connell and Terry Ginther, diocesan chancellor, signed an official decree that reconfirmed the prior decrees and letters of agreement between the Diocese and the newly established Congregation of the Oratory. This decree permanently established St. Anthony’s Catholic Church as the seat of the new Congregation and entrusted the parish and church to The Red Bank Oratory, as the Bishop said in his homily, “forever.”
Representatives from the Confederation of the Oratory in Rome, Father Marco Guillen, C.O., apostolic delegate, and Father Michele Nicolis, procurator general, lent their official presence to the landmark celebration. After Communion, Father Nicolis read the decree from the Holy See and then presented it to Father Tamayo along with a relic of St. Philip Neri.
The process to establish the Oratory officially began in September, 2015 and on May 29, 2016, the Bishop celebrated Mass in St. Anthony of Padua Church during which he signed a canonical decree and Letters of Agreement establishing the relationship between the Oratory and the Diocese. The decree and letters also established St. Anthony of Padua Church as the church of the Oratory in perpetuity and permanently connected the parish of St. Anthony of Padua with the Oratory upon canonical erection by the Holy See.
Celebrating Mass with the community in 2016, Bishop O’Connell said, “Because of the special life of these … good men, as members of the Oratory, hopefully God’s grace will be even more apparent – nourishing you, the parish.”
A Community Celebrates
Parishioners, well-wishers, clergy and Oratorian officials all came out to witness and celebrate the inaugural chapter in the story of the Diocese’s Oratory of St. Philip Neri.
The 400-seat church was filled beyond capacity, while more than 200 individuals watched a livestream of the Mass in auxiliary spaces. Several hundred more people gathered outside in the extreme heat to listen via loudspeaker.
“They’re here and they’re happy,” Father Tamayo said.
Concelebrating the Mass along with Father Tamayo were the priests of the Red Bank Oratory, as priests of the Diocese of Trenton and those from Oratories in New York and Washington.
In his homily, the Bishop said the day marked the “fruit and fulfilment of 10 years of prayer and discernment and desire for Christ; a time when love has found entrance into the hearts of a small group of clergy and brothers in this parish who have lived and prayed and worked together as a community after the spirit and rule of St. Philip Neri and his first Oratorians in Rome.”
The Bishop recounted that St. Philip Neri and the Oratorians established their Oratory in 1575 to be a place of prayer from which experience of daily communion with God and fraternity, the Gospel of Christ was proclaimed and the charity of Christ was shared with the neighboring people of God who looked to them for inspiration and encouraging, for preaching the Word of God and the Sacraments … and more.
Bishop O’Connell shared that through his own reading and research during the past 10 years, he has come to “know and to love St. Philip Neri.”
“I have visited and prayed at his tomb in Rome, but (my affinity has come) even more through what I have seen and experienced through this community here in Red Bank,” the Bishop said.
“Let us pray together that the Oratory of Red Bank will flourish and grow, radiating the joy for which St. Philip Neri was always known, and leading all who come here to find the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Steve Cocco, a parishioner and member of the Secular Oratory, was among those who joyfully expressed what the Oratory’s establishment has meant for the Red Bank faith community.
During the reception after the Mass, he reflected on the history of St. Anthony of Padua Parish as a home for Catholic immigrant groups. The parish, he said, was initially founded to serve the Italian immigrant population and over the years it has become a faith home to the area’s growing Mexican Catholic population as well as the Anglo community.
“Today, there is a good blend of all populations” in age and nationalities who attend the parish, he said, adding, “they are all very devout in their faith.
“It’s a great community,” Cocco said, and now it’s great to know that the priests and brothers who are here at the Oratory “will be here forever …they made a lifelong commitment to this community.”
Lynda Rohrman, a parishioner for 25 years, finds the Oratory a great blessing.
“St. Philip Neri is a very joyful saint and our priests and brothers try to emulate his actions and attitude,” Rohrman said. “Father Al helps us and encourages us as followers of Jesus to put our faith into action and continue to help others in our community. It’s a beautiful way of life.”
Brother Donald Ronning, C.O., believes the Oratory has brought a sense of stability to the parish because the fathers and brothers who live and work in the parish for life is a benefit to both the people of the parish and the Oratorians,” he said. “The Oratory community is able to develop intimate, long-term, consistent, intergenerational relationships with the people of the parish. We become more family to those we serve and they to us.
The Oratory’s canonical recognition confirms the Holy See’s confidence “in our community and the work we are doing in the Lord’s name,” Brother Donald said.
“St. Philip Neri did not start out to form an Oratory, he wanted only to please the Lord by doing good and to bring others to love doing good with great joy,” Brother Donald said. “No one could have a better inspiration than to follow St. Philip Neri, the Apostle of Joy.”
Father Michele Nicolis, C.O., procurator general of the Confederation of the Oratory, holds up the decree from Pope Francis that formally establishes the Red Bank Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Mike Ehrmann photo Related Stories:
To read Bishop O'Connell's homily from the Mass of Thanksgiving, click here.
Red Bank Oratory receives canonical approval from Vatican
Find out more about the Oratory of St. Philip Neri:
-- History and timeline of the Red Bank Oratory
-- How do the Oratorians minister in the Red Bank community?