St. John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church, will be celebrated on October 9, 2010.

The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has published today a Decree, dated November 9, 2025, by which Pope Leo XIV decrees that “St. John Henry Newman, priest and Doctor of the Church, be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar and his free memorial be celebrated by all on October 9”.

This new memorial will be “included in all liturgical calendars and books for the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, making use of the liturgical texts attached to this decree, which will be translated, approved and, after confirmation by this Dicastery, published by the Episcopal Conferences”.

The Holy Father Leo XIV is “aware of the recent recognition as a Doctor of the Church, granted to a holy pastor of such great importance for the entire community of the faithful,” adds the Decree, signed by the Prefect, Cardinal Arthur Roche.

Tireless in mission, intellectual research ministry

During his long life, it is noted, “Cardinal Newman was tireless in the mission to which he had been called, carrying out the ministry of intellectual inquiry, preaching and teaching, as well as service to the poor and the least.”.

Moreover, “his lively mind has left us enduring monuments of great theological and ecclesiological importance, as well as poetic and devotional compositions. His constant quest to go beyond shadows and images to the fullness of truth has become an example for every disciple of the Risen One.”. 

Formerly an Anglican pastor

As will be recalled, Pope Leo XIV approved on July 31 of last year the conferral of the title of Doctor of the Church St. John Henry Newman (London, 1801 - Edgbaston, 1890), eminent British theologian, philosopher and cardinal, who had initially been an Anglican pastor before his conversion to Catholicism in 1845.

Shortly thereafter, on November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints, Newman was officially proclaimed Doctor of the Church in St. Peter's Square during the Jubilee of Education. Shortly before, the Pope had named him co-patron of Education, together with St. Thomas Aquinas.

Numerous articles on Newman's thought have been published in Omnes, including:

John Henry Newman, a saint for our time. Sergio Sánchez Migallón.

The influence of John Henry Newman. Juan Luis Lorda.

Newman's spiritual crises. Pedro Estaún.

Holy priests: Saint John Henry Newman. Manuel Belda.

Luther, Kant and St. John Henry Newman. Santiago Leyra.

Interview with Jack Valero, spokesman for Newman's canonization.

Constant conversion life

As can be seen, the Spanish theologian Juan Luis Lorda published two years ago a text in Omnes on the figure of Newman and his influence. According to Lorda, “the most important thing about Newman is that he is a convert”, not only because of his passage from Anglicanism to Catholicism in 1845, but because his whole life was a “life of constant conversion, in search of the truth that is God”.

On November 1, Pope Leo XIV chose to quote the British saint's poem, ‘Guide, Gracious Light,’ now a popular hymn, in his homily.

“In that beautiful prayer” of St. John Henry Newman, the Pope said, “we realize that we are far from home, our feet are unsteady, we cannot clearly interpret the road ahead. Yet none of this prevents us from moving forward, since we have found our guide” in Jesus. “Guide me, gracious Light, in the midst of the darkness that surrounds me, guide me you,» the Pope quoted in English as he read his homily in Italian, reported Cindy Wooden, CNS News.