Oratory (worship)

Jus novum (c. 1140-1563) Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life In the canon law of the Catholic Church, an oratory is a place which is set aside by permission of an ordinary for divine worship, for the convenience of some community or group of the faithful who assemble there, but to which other members of the faithful may have access with the consent of the competent superior.

The term is often used for very small structures surviving from the first millennium, especially in areas where the monasticism of Celtic Christianity was dominant; in these cases it may represent an archaeological guess as to function, in the absence of better evidence.

In the sacramental law of sacred places, an oratory is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass.

It is for all intents and purposes another word for what is commonly called a chapel, except that a few oratories are set up for the Divine Office and prayers but not Mass.

[further explanation needed] The term can also refer to the local house of the Oratorians, the congregation of priests founded by Philip Neri in Rome, Italy, in 1575.