They welcome both scholars and laypeople into their daily life. First established in Oxford in 1221, Blackfriars is a unique place with a dynamic and wide-ranging mission. Monastery? College? Seminary? Church? Blackfriars is – in its own way – all of these things. Blackfriars is a ‘Priory’, the home of a community of Dominican Friars who open their doors to others, welcoming university students, researchers, men training for priesthood – and many local people who join us for religious services and social events.