“My God, give me courage, a true instinct determining between right and wrong, humility in all things, and a tender longing love of you.”

John was born on February 21, 1801 in London.  He was the eldest of six children and his father was a banker.

He experienced a conversion at the age of 15 and became a staunch Calvinist, opposed to Roman Catholicism and the Pope.  In 1825 he became an Anglican priest later becoming vicar of St. Mary’s University Church in 1828.

He began to feel that the Evangelical doctrine introduced a dangerous form of individualism to Christianity which would lead to subjectivism and skepticism.  He became attracted by the Catholic idea of revealed truth and the teaching office of the Church.  His sister had passed away which led him to read more about the Church, proving influential in his conversion to Catholicism.

In 1845 he was accepted into the Roman Catholic Church which was difficult for many who knew him who deserted him as well.  A year later he was ordained a priest.  At the request of the bishops of Ireland, Newman became rector of the newly established Catholic University of Ireland.  He later wrote autobiographical works to explain and justify his theological convictions to others. 

He was a well-respected theologian and in 1878, Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal even though he never served as a bishop or in Rome.  Later his health began to fail and he died of pneumonia on August 11, 1890.

His theological contributions were tremendous, especially for both Catholics and Anglicans in England.  Newman Centers and Societies have been established in colleges where young Catholics can meet and engage with their faith while at school.

He was canonized on October 13, 2019.

“We can believe what we choose.  We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”

He is the patron saint of The Cardinal Newman Society, and Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

His feast day is October 9.

For God’s Glory.