This is the second edition of Newman's Oratory Papers (1846-78), being his Chapter Addresses and other writings on the purpose and characteristics of Oratorian life.

As Superior, Newman wanted his community to consist of responsible persons bound togeter by tact and discretion, obeying an unwritten law of love. He exercises endless patience in his desire to preserve this 'weaponless state' of the Oratory in spite of tensions, dissensions, opposition and even seperation.

Each paper has been transcribed from the original manuscript in the Birmingham Oratory Archives, and has been provided with a succinct introduction and notes. The editor has, moreover, furnished a full-length introductory study on Newman's spirituality as a priest against the background of the Anglican Ministry (1824-45), since it is true to say that Newman learned to live as a priest while still an Anglican. Four major areas of his Anglican ministry - the Care of Souls, Preaching, the Eucharistic Ministry and Prayer - have been closely examined both in themselves and in their renewed appearance in Newman's life as a Catholic priest.

Father Placid Murray is a Benedictine monk of Glenstal Abbey, Ireland.

John Henry Newman, (1801-1890) was a Roman Catholic priest and cardinal, a convert from Anglicanism in October 1845. In his early life, he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. Both before and after becoming a Roman Catholic, he wrote influential books, including Via Media, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865-66) and the Grammar of Assent (1870). He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.