[1] Completed in 1875, the building of St Aloysius' was an important step in the ongoing refoundation of a Roman Catholic presence in Oxford.

The parish was served by notable members of the society for many years, including Gerard Manley Hopkins (December 1878 – September 1879).

The church also housed a notable collection of relics bequeathed by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell, many of which were destroyed in the 1970s.

The building is being gradually restored as part of the Oratory's "Reaffirmation and Renewal" campaign, which commenced fundraising in 2007.

A shrine dedicated to St John Henry Newman after his beatification was established in 2010,[7] and there are plans to build a new baptistery.