St. John Henry Newman, new Doctor of the Church and Co-Patron of Catholic Education

by Clyde Ericson Nolasco

Henri Newman, the holy man from England, a priest, a preacher, a writer, and a distinguished theologian, earns the titles Doctor of the Church and co-Patron of Catholic Education.

A tapestry of St. John Henry Newman hanging on the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica during his canonization in 2019. | Vatican News

A noble Anglican

Our patron was a student of Trinity College in Oxford where he performed poorly possibly due to anxiety. He managed to graduate and even became a fellow at Oriel College, Oxford. He became a deacon and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1825. He spent his time writing, teaching and being an administrator at St. Alban Hall and eventually at St. Mary’s University Church.

From 1833, Newman became a prominent member of the Oxford Movement. The movement sought renewal in the Catholic Church opposing her Protestant tendencies. Newman led the creation of the “Tracts for the Times,” a series of 90 theological publications put together to renew the Church of England based on its Catholic roots, its continuity with the early Church and apostolic authority.

His Conversion

As he studied more about the writings of the early Church fathers to defend Anglicanism, the more he realized the historical consistency of the Roman Catholic Church with early Christianity. In 1839, reading “The Anglican Claim” with words of St. Augustine, “struck me with a power which I never felt from any words before,” Newman realized it's time to depart from the Anglican tradition. In 1843, he retracted his criticism against Roman Catholicism by publishing an anonymous advertisement in the “Oxford Conservative Journal”

In 1845, Newman was accepted into the Roman Catholic Church. His closest friends and his family deserted him. The Oxford Movement became divided on their opinions about his conversion. In 1846, he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome and joined the Congregation of the Oratory, founded by Saint Philip Neri. He returned to England, founded Oratory Houses and became rector of the Catholic University of Ireland. He continued writing and accomplished 40 books and 21,000 letters. In 1879, he became a Cardinal (but refused to be ordained as bishop, an exception) and took the motto “cor ad cor loquitur,” which means “heart speaks to heart.”

Doctor of the Church and Co-Patron of Catholic Education

In 2019, Pope Francis canonized John Henry Newman. In July 2025, Pope Leo confirmed that St. John Henry Newman would be proclaimed the newest addition to the list of the Doctors of the Church. He is considered a great modern thinker whose writings show that living our ‘faith is a daily “heart-to-heart” dialogue with Christ.’ One is proclaimed a doctor of the church when his life and works help others to understand the Sacred Scripture, Church teaching and Christian life.

Moreso, in Pope Leo’s recent apostolic letter on education, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” St. John Henry Newman was declared co-patron saint of Catholic Education together with St. Thomas Aquinas. His Holiness quoted Newman’s words, “Religious Truth is not only a portion, but a condition of general knowledge.” Thus, inviting educators to “renew the commitment to knowledge that is as intellectually responsible and rigorous as it is profoundly human” that educating is both an act of hope and passion seeing the future in humanity.

An Inspiration to Educators

While John Henry Newman’s life may seem like a usual conversion story, it can serve as an inspiration to teachers and all educators. His desire to defend the Anglican Church led him to discover the real and true one. His life experience challenges us educators never to get tired of seeking the truth and once we encounter it, we must embrace it and live it. His life must be a constant reminder to teachers of the cliché, “practice what you preach.”

St. John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church, Patron of Catholic Education, pray for us!