In Honor of Saint Newman

Through the years I knew and referred to him as Cardinal Newman, but in 2019 he was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. I am posting this in honor of that outstanding churchman and scholar, who died 130 years ago in August 1890 and is now known as Saint Newman. 

Statue of John Henry Newman on the campus of Newman University in Wichita, Kansas

Newman Becomes a Catholic

John Henry Newman was born in February 1801 in London, and he was baptized in an Anglican church about six weeks after his birth. He converted to Evangelical Christianity in 1816, but soon began to question some of the teachings and emphases of Calvinism.

At the age of 16, John Henry partook of his first communion in the Church of England. About six and a half years later he was ordained as an Anglican deacon and then was ordained a priest in May 1825.

Perhaps my first very limited knowledge of Newman came from singing the hymn “Lead, Kindly Light,” for which he wrote the words in 1833 and which long was one of the most popular Christian hymns.

Here is the first verse of that hymn, which Newman penned on a boat as he was trying to get back to England after a period of sickness in Italy:

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.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
the distant scene; one step enough for me.

While the hymn was written specifically about getting safely back to England, Newman felt led in his spiritual pilgrimage to find his religious home in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1845 he left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and became a Catholic.

Newman Becomes a Cardinal

One of Newman’s achievements as a Catholic was in 1851 when he became the founding Rector of the Catholic University of Ireland. He gave a series of lectures there emphasizing that knowledge should be pursued “for its own sake.”

Newman described the university as a place of “universal knowledge,” in which specialized training, while valid in itself, was subordinate to the pursuit of a broader liberal education. Those lectures were published in 1852 under the title The Idea of a University—and the book is still in print.

In 1864, Newman published his spiritual autobiography under the Latin title Apologia Pro Vita Sua. It became a bestseller, and it also remains in print today. Interestingly, Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel The Testaments, which I enjoyed reading last year, has several references to that book by Newman.

Newman authored numerous books, and as a result of his meritorious contributions by both his scholarship and spirituality, he was elevated to the position of Cardinal in 1879.  

Newman Becomes a Saint

In spite of the odds, Pope Francis officially approved Newman’s canonization in February 2019 and the actual ceremony took place this past October.

I say, “in spite of the odds,” for Newman was long embroiled in various controversies—and he even described himself as a “controversialist.” And the popular Jesuit priest James Martin tweeted that same month, “It isn't a slur to suggest that Newman may have been gay.”

Still, Ryan J. Marr, the director of the National Institute for Newman Studies, published a worth-reading 10/19 article titled “Five reasons John Henry Newman is a saint for our times.”

I asked two good Catholic friends about Newman. Former priest Larry Guillot made this email response: “To me, his being named a saint has added little to his reputation or exquisite intelligence. It is a welcome acknowledgment of his spirituality and steadfastness amid controversies.”

And Sister Marilyn Peot wrote, “As for Newman, what I recall was some of his quotes—and his sincerity and humility.” She then shared these words of Newman: “Seeking Truth was the only reason for living,” and “To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

Sister Marilyn also said, “When I hear ‘Newman’ I immediately think ‘Lead, Kindly Light.’” Truly, those are words we all need to sing/pray during these turbulent times.