When in Rome

It was such a pleasure to be visiting the Venerable English College in Rome recently and to attend the Gregorian University, my old Alma Mater, for an academic symposium dedicated to Saint John Henry Newman and his relevance today on the day before Pope Leo bestowed one of the Catholic Church's highest honours on this deeply influential 19th century British convert and theologian, declaring him a doctor of the church and holding him up as a model for Catholic educators.

The conference was opened by Cardinal Marcello Semerano, the Prefect for the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and included contributions from many academics from across the world, including Fr Joseph Carola SJ, Sr Kathleen Dietz, Nicholas Steeves SJ, Benjamin King, Paul Shrimpton and Eamon Duffy. I was delighted to have the chance to give the Margaret Beaufort Institute a shout-out when asking a question of the panel during our discussion time. The conference confirmed that the title 'Doctor of the Church' for Newman was justly deserved.

Only 37 other people have been given the title "doctor" in the 2000-year history of the Catholic Church. Newman now joins the ranks of such monumental Christian figures as St Augustine, St Therese of Lisieux and St John of the Cross.

The title recognises that Newman, beloved in both Anglican and Catholic churches, has universal appeal and made a timeless, eminent contribution to understanding the Christian faith. A theologian and poet raised in the Church of England, Newman is best known for his writings and sermons on the development of doctrine, truth and the nature of a university. He is admired by conservatives and progressives alike because he followed his conscience at great personal cost when he decided to convert to Catholicism in 1845.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims from all nations applauded when Pope Leo XIV declared St John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church during Mass for the Jubilee of the World of Education in St Peter's Square on November 1st, the Feast of All Saints. In the context of that Jubilee, he also declared the saint co-patron with St Thomas Aquinas of the church's educational mission. It was a joy to be there with members of the Oratory communities of Oxford, York and Birmingham as the Pope speaking in Latin said:

"We, having obtained the opinions of numerous brothers in the episcopate and of many of the church'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 St John Henry Newman doctor of the universal church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".

The Margaret Beaufort Institute will be offering a free online talk about John Henry Newman on 2nd December. I encourage you to join us if you can.

Details of the free talk: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-does-it-mean-for-newman-to-be-proclaimed-a-doctor-of-the-church-tickets-1817786330849?aff=oddtdtcreator

Chris Beirne is Educational Research with the Vatican's Academy for Life in Rome and the Margaret Beaufort Institute in Cambridge.