It’s official! Pope Leo XIV approved the decision to declare Saint John Henry Newman the 38th Doctor of the Church.
According to EWTN Vatican, the decision was confirmed during the pope’s Thursday morning meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Since the Vatican has not yet confirmed the date of Newman’s formal proclamation as a Church doctor, we have some time to get to know him. 🙂
Here are some fast facts about the life and legacy of Saint John Henry Newman, followed by some powerful words of wisdom.
1) John Henry Newman was born in London, England.
“To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” -Saint John Henry Newman
2. Before his conversion to Catholicism in 1845, Saint John Henry Newman was a respected Anglican priest and theologian.
“Good is never accomplished except at the cost of those who do it, truth never breaks through except through the sacrifice of those who spread it.” -Saint John Henry Newman
3) Saint John Henry Newman was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847. Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal in 1879. He chose the motto “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“Heart speaks to heart”).
“O my Lord Jesus, low as I am in Your all-holy sight, I am strong in You, strong through Your Immaculate Mother, through Your saints and thus I can do much for the Church, for the world, for all I love.” -Saint John Henry Newman
4) His writings consist of more than 20,000 letters and 40 books!
“Nothing would be done at all if one waited until one could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.” -Saint John Henry Newman
5) Saint John Henry Newman was declared a saint by Pope Francis.
“God knows what is my greatest happiness, but I do not. There is no rule about what is happy and good; what suits one would not suit another. And the ways by which perfection is reached vary very much; the medicines necessary for our souls are very different from each other. Thus God leads us by strange ways; we know He wills our happiness, but we neither know what our happiness is, nor the way. We are blind; left to ourselves we should take the wrong way; we must leave it to Him.” -Saint John Henry Newman
