Oratory of Saint Philip Neri

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The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a congregation of Roman Catholic priests and lay-brothers who live together in community bound together by no formal vows but only with the bond of charity. They are commonly referred to as Oratorians. The order was founded by St. Philip Neri (1515-1595).

Cardinal John Henry Newman founded the Birmingham Oratory in Edgbaston, England, in 1848 and lived there in his later years. Attached to the Birmingham Oratory was the famous Oratory School now at Woodcote, Oxfordshire near Reading.

English houses also exist in London and Oxford.

The first Oratory in the United States was founded in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1934. Six more American houses have been established in Monterey, California; Pharr, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Brooklyn, New York; New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Efforts are being made to found houses in Chicago, Honolulu, Sparkill, NY and Kalamazoo, MI as well. Toronto boasts the only Canadian Oratory.

The Oratory in Pharr, Texas runs the Oratory Schools System which is comprised of three schools. The Oratory Academy of St. Philip Neri is for elementary and middle school levels from PK-3 through 8th grade and The Oratory Athenæum for University Preparation is for high schools levels from 9th grade through 12th grade. The third school in Reynosa, Mexico is the The Newman Institute of the Oratory.

The post-nominal initials commonly used to identify members of the order are "C.O.". The Abbreviation "Cong. Orat." is also used.