Pope Leo XIV declared Saint John Henry Newman as patron of the educational mission of the Catholic Church along with Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his recent Apostolic Letter on Education “Making New Maps of Hope.”
With this gesture, the Pontiff builds a bridge between both saints, who are separated by six centuries, but are united by the same mission: teaching within the Catholic Church.
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Dr. Paul Gordon, professor of Social Doctrine of the Church and of History and Contemporary Literature at the Ángel Ayala CEU Institute of Humanities, reflected on this decision of the Holy Father in conversation with ACI Prensa.
Union between faith and reason
As the Scottish professor recalled, both theologians promoted dialogue between the sciences, especially between faith and reason, placing the gift of faith as a path to search for truth.
This is indicated by the Pope in his recent document, published on the occasion of the LX anniversary of the conciliar Declaration The most important education in which he remembers the words of Newman, who on November 1 will also be declared a Doctor of the Church: “Religious truth is not only a part, but a condition of general knowledge.”
This represents, as Pope Leo XIV indicates, an invitation to “renew the commitment to knowledge that is as intellectually responsible and rigorous as it is deeply human.”
A sharp look at modern times
The patrons of Catholic education contributed to the teaching of the Church thanks to their extensive knowledge of theology. Specifically, the “Angelic Doctor” Christianized the Greek philosopher, and deepened the Christian faith “in the light of Aristotle’s philosophy,” Gordon said.
“Saint Thomas introduced Aristotle’s philosophy into the Catholic Church at the beginning of the modern world, in the 13th century,” he added.
For his part, Newman, who was the first chancellor of the Catholic University of Ireland, “unified faith and reason” with a keen eye on modern times.
The professor also recalled that Newman is one of the most celebrated converts to Catholicism in recent times, so the Pontiff’s gesture is “one more milestone that marks the return to Rome” that Newman himself experienced.
“Newman was one of the first to leave Anglicanism and convert to Catholicism, marking the path to follow for many other converts in my country and in Anglo-Saxon countries,” he recalled.
A light for current teaching
“For university professors and those of us who dedicate ourselves to teaching in general, it is a very important step,” the professor stressed. According to Gordon, both saints can illuminate teaching in today’s world, where “education, especially university education, has become a kind of utilitarian vocational training where spirituality has no place,” he lamented.
He also noted that Newman “is an exceptional person for many reasons. He was the first person who in my country, in the mid-19th century, dared to leave Anglicanism, which continues to be the official and established Church. Many people criticized him for that, but he went to the Catholic Church because he knew that was where the truth resided,” he stated.
He particularly highlighted the courage and bravery of this saint and specified that, in his opinion, Pope Leo
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
Graduated in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. She has been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and is currently a European correspondent based in Spain.