Blackfriars Hall

University of Oxford

Arms: Gyronny sable and argent, a cross flory counterchanged.

Location

St Giles', Oxford

Established

1994

Named after

The black cappa of the Dominican friars

Regent

Rev. John O’Connor, OP^[1]

Undergraduates

0 (4 visiting students)

Postgraduates

86^[2]

Website

Hall website

Blackfriars Hall is a Catholic permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. Unlike a college, a hall is owned and governed by an outside institution (in this case, the English Province of the Order of Preachers) and not by its fellows. Although historically a centre for the study of theology and philosophy informed by the intellectual tradition of St Thomas Aquinas, it now admits men and women of any faith to a wide range of postgraduate degree programmes in the humanities and social sciences. The current Regent of Blackfriars is Fr. John O'Connor, O.P..

Overview

Blackfriars Hall is the home of a number of other institutes including, the Las Casas Institute on ethics, governance and social justice.^[3] Launched in November 2008, the institute contributes to the hall's founding vision to be a centre of the social as well as the sacred sciences.^[4] Its founding director (from October 2008 to January 2011) was Francis Davis;^[5] As of 2022^[update] the director is Richard Finn.^[6]

The Aquinas Institute was established in 2004 under the directorship of Fergus Kerr.^[7] It aims to foster study of St Thomas at Oxford through seminars, conferences, summer schools and programmes. Patrons of the institute include John Haldane, Alasdair MacIntyre and Eleonore Stump.^[8]

People associated with Blackfriars

Notable former students

Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., Cardinal prelate and Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
Anthony Fisher OP, 9th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney
Delia Gallagher, journalist, CNN Faith and Values Correspondent

Fellows and academics

John Battle - former MP for Leeds West
Brian Davies - philosopher and former Regent
Richard Finn - former Regent and Novice Master for The English Province of The Order of Preachers
Timothy Radcliffe - Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001
Fergus Kerr - Regent (1998-2004)
James MacMillan - classical composer and conductor, Honorary Fellow
John Loughlin - Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge

References

^ "New Regent Announced". Blackfriars, Oxford. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
^ "Information about the Hall in a job advertisement" (PDF).
^ "Blackfriars - Hall - Las Casas Institute". Bfriars.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
^ "New Las Casas Institute launched at Blackfriars Hall". Ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
^ "Las Casas director appointed government advisor". Ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
^ "People: Las Casas Institute". Blackfriars Hall. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
^ "Blackfriars - Hall - Aquinas Institute". Bfriars.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
^ "People: Aquinas Institute". Blackfriars Hall. Retrieved 31 March 2022.

University of Oxford

Leadership

Colleges

Permanent private halls

Divisions and departments

Humanities	Asian and Middle Eastern Studies American Institute Art Classics History Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics Medieval and Modern Languages Music Philosophy Theology and Religion
Medical Sciences	Biochemistry Human Genetics Medical School Pathology Population Health
Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences	Biology Chemistry Computer Science Earth Sciences Engineering Science Materials Mathematical Institute Physics
Social Sciences	Archaeology Business Continuing Education Economics Government International Development Law Politics & International Relations Social Policy and Intervention
Gardens, Libraries & Museums	Ashmolean Museum Bodleian Libraries Botanic Garden History of Science Natural History Pitt Rivers