The Church of the Most Holy Sacrament and St Osburg has reopened after a 15 month refurbishment. The church is known locally as St Osburg's and is the mother church of Coventry. The Mass of dedication for the New Altar and Celebration of the restoration of the Church was celebrated on the 9th September, coinciding on the feast of St Osburg.

A brief history . The first settlement in what is now Coventry was the convent established by the Abbess, St Osburg, in Anglo Saxon times. It was destroyed by the Vikings and rebuilt as a monastery for men in 1043 by Lady Godiva and her husband Earl Leofric. It developed into a great Monastery and the Cathedral Church of Coventry -  the only Cathedral destroyed by King Henry VIII.
In 1775 the few Catholics in Coventry attended Mass at the "Mass House", 74 & 75 Little Park Street, served by the Franciscans. They handed the mission to the Benedictines in 1803. In 1806 Dom John Dawber OSB bought land in Hill Street and on 8th December 1807 the Church of St Mary and St Laurence was consecrated, the first Catholic Church in Coventry after the Reformation.
In 1841 Dom Bernard Ullathorne OSB, who later became the first Bishop of Birmingham, came to Coventry and took charge of the parish based on Hill Street. The church was in a poor state, and so he set out to build a new church, St.Osburg's, which was opened in 1845. In the late 19th Century St Osburgs was placed under the care of the Abbot of Downside Abbey, and in the early 20th Century it was placed under the care of the Abbot of Douai, and it continued to be served by Benedictine Monks from most of the UK Monasteries of the English Benedictine Congregation until 1992, when the parish was taken over by the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
St Osburgs was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz of November 1940, but Mass continued to be said throughout the Second World War. The Catholic Church in Coventry has grown form its 'Mother Church', St Osburgs in the 19th Century, and, today, there are 18 Catholic Churches in Coventry.

Key points of the restoration include the following:

• In the major restoration of 1890 the rood screen was replaced by ornate marble altar rails. There were two brass gates in the middle, each with an angel holding a shield. One shield depicted the Host and Chalice, the other The Pelican  The new glass screen at the back of church features these symbols, and the crèche, the symbol of the sheaf of wheat.
• The Baptismal Font has been moved to the front and restored to its natural stone.
• The statues in the new altar are St Denis, Bishop and Martyr on the left, Our Blessed Lady in the middle, and St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, with the grid iron on which he was put to death.
• The Stations of the Cross have been restored. Previously the wooden frames had been painted. The restorers removed this and discovered there had been some stencilling detail in the corners, which they have replicated. Damage was repaired. The colours of the figures were very anaemic and are now more vivid.
• The twelve angels high up on the walls of the nave hold shields, each one depicting a different symbol of The Blessed Sacrament, because this is The Church of the Most Holy Sacrament and St Osburg.
• The stone pillars have had the paint removed and all the church has been repainted.
  
• The floor has been completely relaid and finished in a lovely red tile with underfloor heating.

Archbishop Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, was the Principal Celebrant and Preacher aand additional celebrants included Bishop Philip Pargeter, Abbott Geoffrey Scott OSB of Douai Abbey, Aidan Bellenger OSB of Downside Abbey. Many of the former priests who served at St Osburg's along with many of the Coventry priests were also present. In total about 45 concelebrated the Mass. The architects and construction team who worked on the restoration were also present along with Parish community and St Osburg's primary school. The primary school looked after all the clergy before the Mass in the Parish Hall.

At the end of Mass, as Canon Garry Byrne was thanking everybody, he said "People used to ask when will be start? This changed to when will it be finished? And now, the question will be when will it be paid for?" At the moment the church is £490,000 overdrawn, so the appeal for donations continues. See website for more information on how to help.

He then went on to thank  everyone who helped with the celebration of the Consecration of our New Altar and reopening of St Osburg’s Church including but not limited to, Brian the sacristan, Veronica and Sarah who arranged the flowers, and those who cleaned.  He  thanked Keith Ainsworth who co-ordinated the liturgy and printed the booklets; Chris Coleman, choir mistress, and the combined choirs; the altar servers; those who helped at the Mass.  He thanked the Knights of St Columba for acting as stewards, National Grid for the use of their car park, Mrs McGeever and the school staff for welcoming the clergy and providing refreshments before Mass; Elizabeth Grumbley for doing the catering, and all those who assisted on the night, and those who cleared up.  And Finally ‘Days Hotel’ for donating the wine. It was a worthy celebration of this new blessing on the parish.

Speaking with Midland Conservation Limited's  Site Manager, Derek Monaghan he said "you only get one of these in lifetime and you have to get it right. I am delighted with the way it has been handed back to the parish"

Additionally the church now has a live web camera for those who are unable to attend the church. See www.mcnmedia.tv or www.coventry-catholicdeanery.org.uk

More photos from the evening can also be found on the Coventry Deanery website.