Lowertown Oratory

Help the Aspiring Oratory of St. Paul and Minneapolis get started! 

We are a small community of priests hoping to establish an Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Fundamental principles of the Oratory are permanence and stability, which means the priests will permanently reside in community at St. Mary's and in the Archdiocese at the service of the local community for the evangelization, formation and sanctification of many souls. Not only is priestly community a value unto itself, but we hope that our life together can become a center of community for many persons and families. We need your help to get ourselves off the ground!

Specifically, we need funds for the following:

1.      The Reception and Formation of New Community Members: as our community grows, regular funds will be needed to house, sustain and form our new members. 

2.    Sustaining the Priestly Community: funding from the household will be necessary to offset the cost of priestly compensation so that members can continue to be assigned in such a way as to allow for a sustained cohesive community life and a shared apostolic focus.

3.    Apostolic Outreach: regular funding will give us greater flexibility to pursue apostolic initiatives in downtown St. Paul: e.g., curricula for in-depth formation and education of the laity, events of evangelical outreach, cultural engagement and patronage of the arts.

4.    Renovation of the rectory: our 100-year-old house needs significant work in order to be ready to receive more men and host a well-ordered community.

Already, a devoted community is developing, composed principally of young adults and young families seeking local connection, in-depth formation, liturgical renewal and cultural engagement. See our parish website for a glimpse at some of the work we are already doing: https://stmarystpaul.org. 

Long-term, we envision the Oratory as a spiritual, cultural, intellectual, liturgical and evangelical hub for local Catholics seeking a deeper engagement with the gospel. In order for us to embark further upon these initiatives, the time has come for us to humbly ask for aid. 

Our initial goal is $50,000 for the coming year. Please help us reach this objective! 

God reward you!