Pope Leo XIV formally declared Saint John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church on Saturday, giving him one of Catholicism’s most prestigious titles and touting him as an example of intellectual sanctity. Source: Crux.
During Mass on November 1 – Solemnity of All Saints – the Pope said Newman’s spiritual and intellectual standing 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 Pope formally proclaimed Saint John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church and named Newman and Saint Thomas Aquinas as co-patrons of the Church’s educational mission during a Mass in St Peter’s Square as part of the Jubilee for the World of Education, which is part of the broader Jubilee of Hope.
Born in 1801, Newman was a member of the Anglican church and was ordained a priest in 1825.
He became part of the Oxford Movement, which aimed to more closely align the Church of England with its Catholic roots.
Newman stirred controversy when he became a member of the Catholic Church in 1845 and was later ordained a Catholic priest. He was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII, in 1879.
Newman died in 1890 and was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 2010, during Benedict’s visit to Birmingham, England. He was canonised by Pope Francis in 2019.
In Catholicism, the “Doctor of the Church” title is bestowed by a pope upon a saint as a recognition of the individual’s significant contribution to the church’s theology or doctrine. Newman himself is hailed for his teachings on conscience and doctrinal development.
Including Newman, there are now 38 Doctors of the Church, four of whom are women.
The declaration of Newman as a Doctor of the Church was also considered an ecumenical act, as Newman’s intellectual contributions to the faith are also revered within the Anglican communion. A delegation of the Church of England was also present at Saturday’s Mass, led by Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York.
FULL STORY
Leo XIV declares St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church (By Elise Ann Allen, Crux)
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