Saint John Henry Newman, Saint of the day for 24 September

(21 February 1801 - 11 August 1890)

The Story of St John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman, the foremost English-speaking Roman Catholic theologian of the XNUMXth century, spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic. He was a priest, popular preacher, writer and eminent theologian in both churches.

Born in London, England, he studied at Trinity College in Oxford, was a tutor at Oriel College and for 17 years was vicar of the university church, St. Mary the Virgin. He eventually published eight volumes of Parochial and Plain Sermons, as well as two novels. His poem, "Dream of Gerontius", was set to music by Sir Edward Elgar.

After 1833, Newman was a prominent member of the Oxford Movement, which emphasized the Church's debt to the Church Fathers and defied any tendency to view truth as completely subjective.

Historical research made Newman suspect that the Roman Catholic Church was in close continuity with the Church that Jesus had established. In 1845 he was received in full communion as a Catholic. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome and became part of the Congregation of the Oratory, founded three centuries earlier by San Filippo Neri. Returning to England, Newman founded the houses of the Oratory in Birmingham and London and was rector of the Catholic University of Ireland for seven years.

Before Newman, Catholic theology tended to ignore history, preferring instead to draw inferences from first principles, just as plane geometry does. After Newman, the lived experience of believers was recognized as a fundamental part of theological reflection.

Eventually Newman wrote 40 books and 21.000 surviving letters. The most famous are his book volume Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine, Apologia Pro Vita Sua - his spiritual autobiography up to 1864 - and Essay on the Grammar of Assent. He accepted Vatican I's teaching on papal infallibility by noting its limitations, which many people who favored that definition were reluctant to do.

When Newman was appointed cardinal in 1879, he took as his motto "Cor ad cor loquitur" - "The heart speaks to the heart". He was buried in Rednal 11 years later. After his grave was exhumed in 2008, a new grave was prepared at the Birmingham Oratory church.

Three years after Newman's death, a Newman Club for Catholic students started at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Over time, his name was linked to the ministerial centers of many public and private colleges and universities in the United States.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Newman in London. Benedict noted Newman's emphasis on the vital role of revealed religion in civil society, but he also praised his pastoral zeal for the sick, the poor, the bereaved and those in prison. Pope Francis canonized Newman in October 2019. The liturgical feast of St. John Henry Newman is October 9th.

Reflection
John Henry Newman has been called the "absent father of Vatican II" because his writings on conscience, religious freedom, Scripture, the vocation of the laity, the relationship between church and state and other topics were extremely influential in the formation of the Council documents. Although Newman was not always understood or appreciated, he steadfastly preached the Good News by word and example.