Saint of the day October 9: Saint John Henry Newman. Catholic Saints

Every October 9 the Catholic Church celebrates Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890), a prominent figure in British Catholicism, a brilliant and influential theologian, and one of the most celebrated converts to Catholicism in recent centuries.

Persevering in the search for God

Born in London (United Kingdom) on February 21, 1801, he was first a priest of the Anglican Church until he took the step of converting to Catholicism in 1845. His love and openness to the truth, as well as the docility with which he He let the Holy Spirit lead him, they encouraged him to take that turn in his life.

As a Catholic, he deepened and contributed to the teaching of the Church, thanks to his extensive knowledge of theology and his keen view of modern times, a view founded on the Gospel. He was elevated to the dignity of cardinal by decision of Pope Leo XIII (1879).

Return to the sources

In his youth he was linked to the so-called Oxford Movement, becoming one of its most important figures. This movement – made up of prominent intellectuals linked to the no less prestigious university – aspired for the Church of England to return to its roots, which led to theological positions increasingly closer to Catholicism and the subsequent desire of its members to join the Catholic Church.

After completing his studies at Trinity College at the University of Oxford, Newman was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church on May 29, 1825. He served the Church for two decades until his definitive conversion to Catholicism occurred. in 1845. Two years later he would receive the sacred priestly order in the Catholic Church, on May 30, 1847.

Return home

Newman was the founder of the Oratory of San Felipe Neri in England and developed a prolific work: he was the author of 40 books and 21 thousand letters.

Upon being created cardinal in 1879 by Leo XIII, Newman took as his motto “He speaks heart to heart” (The heart speaks to the heart) as an expression of his experience of conversion, which is a “return home”, a return journey towards the most intimate part of the heart, where God resides – the heart of man in a kind encounter with the heart of God.

In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, Newman’s cardinal motto “gives us a perspective of what holiness is, experienced as the deep desire of the human heart to enter into intimate communion with the Heart of God. It reminds us that fidelity to prayer gradually transforms us into the likeness of God” (Homily of the Beatification of Saint John H. Newman).

I have a mission

“I have my mission… I am a link in a chain, a link between people. (God) He has not created me for nothing. I will do His work: I will be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place… if I do so, I will remain in His commandments and serve Him in my work” (Meditation and devotion301-2).

In that particular mission, Cardinal Newman dealt with current, “day-to-day” issues of the English; as well as background topics such as the relationship between faith and reason, education in general and university education in particular. One of his favorite topics was the university as an institution and its role within society. For Newman, the university in principle, contrary to the visions that exacerbate the utilitarian vision, had to link “intellectual effort, moral discipline and religious commitment” (Benedict XVI, on. cit). On the other hand, his reflections also included the laity – who wanted more protagonist and responsibility – and the priestly ministry – whose role was indispensable to him, because it was deeply human, even though his service is totally anchored in the divine and sacred.

Pope Benedict concluded his reflection that day by highlighting the pastoral role of the saint. Many, by dint of admiration for the saint’s pen and oratory, forget his constant concern for his parishioners in Birmingham (United Kingdom), where he assisted, watched and cared directly for the poor, sick and helpless. This important facet of Newman cannot be left aside.

Miracles

Cardinal Newman died in Edgbaston (England), in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on September 19, 2010, thanks to the miraculous healing of Deacon Jack Sullivan, of Braintree, Massachusetts (USA), who He recovered from a spinal ailment that prevented him from walking.

Pope Francis canonized him on October 13, 2019, by virtue of the immediate and definitive healing of a pregnant woman who suffered from profuse internal bleeding. The bleeding could not be controlled by doctors, but it stopped when the woman asked for the saint’s intercession – she had recently seen the documentary on the life of John Henry Newman on EWTN.

The baby was born completely healthy and the mother was completely recovered.

Impact on current Catholic culture

Saint John Henry Newman is the patron of the Personal Ordinary of Our Lady of Walsingham, and of the Birmingham Oratory, England, which is considered his shrine. His remains rest in the small Catholic cemetery of Rednal, in the same town (Birmingham).

The postulator of Cardinal Newman’s canonization cause, Fr. Ignatius Harrison, noted in 2019: “Newman was a central figure within the Oxford Movement in the Church of England, and this helped him make his theological contribution. and unique spirituality to Catholicism after his conversion in 1845.”

Harrison adds that Newman’s “long spiritual pilgrimage ‘from shadows and images to truth’ encourages all Christians to persevere in their pursuit of God above all…His conversion to Catholicism is a clear example of how God uses all the circumstances of our lives to attract us to himself, to his own good time and in many different ways.”

Saint John Henry Newman, intercede for fidelity to the Gospel of all Catholics!