By Alessandro De Carolis
One of the great modern thinkers of Christianity, a key figure in a spiritual and human journey that left a profound mark on the Church and 19th-century ecumenism, and the author of writings that show how living the faith is a daily “heart-to-heart” dialogue with Christ. A life spent with energy and passion for the Gospel—culminating in his canonization in 2019—that will soon lead to the English cardinal John Henry Newman being proclaimed a Doctor of the Church.
The news was announced today, Jul 31, in a statement from the Holy See Press Office, which reported that during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV has “confirmed the affirmative opinion of the Plenary Session of Cardinals and Bishops, Members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, regarding the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, which will soon be conferred on Saint John Henry Newman.”
“From Shadows and Images into the Truth”
“Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home—
Lead Thou me on…
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.”
John Henry Newman was 32 years old when this poignant prayer rose from his heart during his return to England after a long journey through Italy. Born in 1801, he had already been an Anglican priest for eight years and was widely recognized as one of the most brilliant minds in his church—a man who captivated with both spoken and written word.
The 1832 trip to Italy deepened his inner search. Newman carried within him a thirst to know the depths of God, His “kindly Light,” which for him was also the light of Truth—truth about Christ, the true nature of the Church, and the tradition of the early centuries, when the Church Fathers spoke to a still undivided Church. Oxford—epicenter of his faith and the place where the future saint lived and worked—became the road along which his convictions gradually shifted toward Catholicism.
In 1845, he distilled his spiritual journey into the Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, the fruit of a long pursuit of that Light, which he came to recognize in the Catholic Church—a Church he saw as the very one born from the heart of Christ, the Church of the martyrs and the ancient Fathers, which, like a tree, had grown and developed through history. Soon after, he asked to be received into the Catholic Church, which took place on Oct 8, 1845. He later wrote of that moment: “It was like coming into port after a rough sea; and my happiness on that score remains to this day without interruption.”
Devoted to Saint Philip Neri
In 1846, he returned to Italy to enter, as a humble seminarian—despite being a theologian and thinker of international renown—the Collegio di Propaganda Fide. “It is so wonderful to be here,” he wrote. “It is like a dream, and yet so calm, so secure, so happy, as if it were the fulfilment of a long hope, and the beginning of a new life.” On May 30, 1847, the circle of his vocation was completed with his ordination to the priesthood.
During these months, Newman was deeply drawn to the figure of St Philip Neri—another soul, like himself, “adopted” by Rome. When Blessed Pope Pius IX encouraged him to return to England, Newman went on to found an Oratory there, dedicated to the saint with whom he shared a joyful disposition. That good humor remained intact even through the many challenges he faced in establishing Catholic institutions in his homeland, many of which seemed at first to falter. Still, his mind continued to produce brilliant writings in defense and support of Catholicism—even under fierce attack.
In 1879, Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal. Upon hearing the news, Newman wept with joy: “The cloud is lifted forever.” He continued his apostolic work with undiminished intensity until his death on Aug 11, 1890. On his tomb, he asked that only his name and a brief phrase be inscribed, one that encapsulates the extraordinary arc of his 89 years of life: Ex umbris et imaginibus in Veritatem, “From shadows and images into the Truth.”
Benedict XVI beatified him in 2010, honoring a man of deep prayer who, in the Pope’s words, “lived out that profoundly human vision of priestly ministry in his devoted care” for people: “visiting the sick and the poor, comforting the bereaved, caring for those in prison.
‘Cor ad cor loquitur’
Newman was canonized in 2019 by Pope Francis, who, in the encyclical Dilexit nos, explained why the English cardinal had chosen as his motto the phrase Cor ad cor loquitur—“Heart speaks to heart.” Because, the Pope noted, beyond any dialectical argument, the Lord saves us by speaking from His heart to ours: “This realization led him, the distinguished intellectual, to recognize that his deepest encounter with himself and with the Lord came not from his reading or reflection, but from his prayerful dialogue, heart to heart, with Christ, alive and present. It was in the Eucharist that Newman encountered the living heart of Jesus, capable of setting us free, giving meaning to each moment of our lives, and bestowing true peace.” – Vatican News
