St John Henry Newman: Doctor of the Church
Pope Leo XIV pronounces St John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church
St John Henry Newman
St John Henry Newman, born just days after the death of Queen Victoria in 1801, has been a towering influence in the Church for many years and for many reasons - his writings, his hymnody, his personal convictions and conversion. A fuller biography can be found at the foot of this article, for now here are some notable dates.
Born: 21 Feb 1801 - London
Ordained Anglican Priest: 29 May 1825 - Oxford
Received into the Catholic Church: 9 Oct 1845 - Littlemore by Bl Dominic Barberi
Ordained Catholic Priest: 30 May 1847
Created Cardinal: 12 May 1879 by Pope Leo XIII
Died: 11 Aug 1890 - Edgbaston, Birmingham (buried, Oratory Cemetery, Rednal)
Beatified: 19 Sep 2010 - Cofton Park, Birmingham by Pope Benedict XVI
Canonised: 13 Oct 2019 - Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis
Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV on 1 Nov 2025. He was also named co-patron of Catholic education, joining St Thomas Aquinas
The Declaration
On 1 November 2025 (the Diocese of Rome keeps the feast of All Saints on that date rather than moving it to the Sunday, as we do in England and Wales), Pope Leo XIV declared St John Henry Newman to be a ‘Doctor of the Universal Church. At the Mass, he recalled Cardinal Newman’s impressive spiritual and cultural stature which, ‘will surely serve as an inspiration to new generations whose hearts thirst for the infinite, and who, through research and knowledge, are willing to undertake that journey which, as the ancients said, takes us per aspera ad astra, through difficulties to the stars.’ The declaration text itself, which has to be announced by the Pope or an ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, ran as follows in Latin (English below):
Nos, vota plurimorum Fratrum in Episcopatu
multorumque christifidelium totius orbis explentes,
de Dicasterii de Causis Sanctorum consulto,
certa scientia ac matura deliberatione
deque apostolicæ potestatis plenitudine
Sanctum Ioannem Henricum Newman
Ecclesiæ Universalis Doctorem declaramus.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
We, having obtained the opinions of numerous Brothers in the Episcopate
and of many of Christ’s faithful throughout the world,
having consulted the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints,
after mature deliberation and with certain knowledge,
and by the fullness of the apostolic power,
declare Saint John Henry Newman
Doctor of the Universal Church.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Seminarians from the Beda and Scots Colleges rehearse ahead of Mass
The banner from St Peter’s Basilica (note the crest of Pope Leo XIV)
Some Definite Service
Pope Leo was presented with a Southwark SDS bag in September 2025!
The writings and thought of St John Henry Newman have had, and continue to have a profound impact on the work of the Agency for Evangelisation and Catechesis. His meditation from March 1848, Some Definite Service, is the name given to our approach to parish growth in Evangelisation, Catechesis and Formation. It is the name given to the missionary network of volunteers across the archdiocese which comprises ‘links in a chain, bonds of connections between persons’. It celebrates providence and personal responsibility in living the life of a mature Christian.
His desire for an intelligent and well-informed laity came from a conviction that education was a necessity for all the baptised. He wanted all within the Church to know their Creed, doctrine and dogmas, understand the tradition, the Bible, sacraments, apologetics, and Church history:
‘enlarge your knowledge, cultivate your reason, get an insight into the relation of truth to truth, learn to view things as they are, understand how faith and reason stand to each other... You ought to be able to bring out what you feel and what you mean, as well as to feel and mean it… to explain the charges brought against the Church, to the satisfaction, not, indeed, of bigots, but of men of sense, of whatever cast of opinion.’
In 2026, the Archdiocese will launch a new video apologetics programme called Ambassadors for Christ. We have no doubt that the newest Doctor of the Church, co-patron of educators, would have approved. St John Henry Newman, pray for us.
Original painting by Wendy Steyn (2025)
A Brief Biography of St John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman, born in London, England, was the eldest of three sons and had three sisters. His father was a banker, and his mother’s family were engravers and papermakers. His early education was given by his Anglican mother who was descended from French Calvinist Huguenots. As a child, he became well versed in the Bible, although his religious convictions were not definitive. At the age of seven, he was sent to Great Ealing School, a boarding school considered to be the best private school in England at that time. John was a serious student who loved to read, devouring everything from Arabian tales to philosophical and theological works. He especially loved stories that sparked his imagination.
When John Henry was fifteen, during his final year at Ealing, he went through a profound conversion. Of that conversion, he later wrote, ‘I fell under the influences of a definite creed, and received into my intellect impressions of dogma, which, through God’s mercy, have never been effaced or obscured’ (Apologia #3). His conversion came through reading Evangelical books in which he came to a personal conviction about eternal glory. That year he continued to read and was introduced to Saint Augustine and other Church Fathers, though most of his reading was in Evangelical theology. His reading even led him to conclude that the ‘Pope was the Antichrist predicted by Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John.’ Finally, he sensed that his life mission would require him to remain celibate, perhaps so he could be a missionary or for some other reason.
After his personal conversion, John Henry continued his studies at Trinity College, Oxford. Because he struggled, he graduated without distinctions. Desiring to continue with his intellectual pursuits, he began working as a private tutor and preparing for a fellowship at Oriel College, Oxford, which he received in 1822 at the age of twenty-one. In 1824, he was ordained an Anglican deacon and became a priest in 1825. After his Anglican ordination, he became curate of Saint Clement’s Church, Oxford. As curate, he assisted the parish priest with various pastoral duties, which gave him time to reflect upon his theological concepts within the context of real life with real people. His time as a curate won him much respect, and in 1828, he was appointed Vicar of the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Oxford. He remained in this position until 1843.
In the early 1830s, some leaders within the Church of England were growing increasingly concerned about what appeared to be a laxity of faith among the Anglican community, as well as state interference in the Anglican Church. On July 14, 1833, an Anglican priest named John Keble preached a sermon at the University of Oxford that caught the interest of a number of Anglican leaders, including John Henry Newman. This sermon sparked what became known as the Oxford Movement. Over the next several years, John Henry and others began to write and publish ‘Tracts for the Times.’ These tracts were a series of pamphlets that defended Anglican apostolic succession and argued for a return to the liturgical traditions with a renewed interest in the Church Fathers. Little by little, however, his writings appeared to sound more like Catholic teaching than Anglican. Though this caused controversy, John Henry continued to develop his doctrinal convictions.
It was Newman’s study and articulation of the teachings of the Church Fathers that had the biggest impact upon him. In 1842, he retired from his positions at Oxford and retreated to Littlemore, where he spent the next few years living a quasi-monastic life of prayer, study, and writing. After a thorough study of the Church Fathers and the development of the doctrines he deeply believed in, he was convinced that the Roman Catholic Church was the Church instituted by Christ. Despite the shock and disapproval of those close to him, on October 9, 1845, he was received into the Catholic Church in a small ceremony at Littlemore by Blessed Dominic Barberi. He then travelled to Rome for further studies, was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847, and returned to Birmingham, England, to form the Birmingham Oratory of St. Philip Neri in 1848.
In the years that followed, Father Newman helped found the Catholic University of Ireland and published the Apologia Pro Vita Sua, a theological defence of his personal conversion. He also published several other works, including The Idea of a University, in which he especially articulates the purpose of a university. He argued that a university was not just to teach useful knowledge but to cultivate the mind in its pursuit of knowledge, ultimately arriving at ‘a great and firm belief in the sovereignty of Truth.’ It is for this reason that Catholic chaplaincies at colleges are called Newman Centres.
Before his death, Father Newman received two important Honours. In 1877, he was given an honorary fellowship at Trinity College as a way of reconciling him with Oxford and his former colleagues. An even greater honour came in 1879 when Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal, despite the fact that he was not a bishop.
Adapted from https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/saint-john-henry-newman/