What is an oratory?
The Oratory of The Blessed Trinity is a private oratory, a place of prayer and worship for the Bishop, his/her family, and others by invitation. As a general term, Oratory signifies a place of prayer, but technically it means a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass. Oratories seem to have originated from the chapels erected over the tombs of the early martyrs where the faithful resorted to pray, and also from the necessity of having a place of worship for the people in country districts when churches proper were restricted to cathedral cities. We also find early mention of private oratories for the celebration of Mass by bishops, and later of oratories attached to convents and to the residences of nobles. Private Oratories are those erected in private houses for the convenience of some person or family. Oratories in private houses date from Apostolic times when the Sacred Mysteries could not be publicly celebr
