There's a New Doctor in the House

Aug. 17, 2025

Pope Leo XIV recently named St. John Henry Cardinal Newman as the most recent Doctor of the Church. This title is given to those whose writings are especially important to the growth of the Church’s understanding of the faith. Many of them have written about doctrine, and others have written about the spiritual life.
   
Cardinal Newman began life in England as an Anglican, who became a priest and a brilliant theologian. He was one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century and a major leader of the Anglican Church. He became a leader in the Oxford Group (from Oxford University), who were drawn to the more ancient Catholic form of worship and belief. They were pushing to reclaim these elements.

Eventually, Newman realized that he could no longer remain part of the Church of England, and in 1845, he joined the Catholic Church. He was ordained a priest, and later a bishop and a cardinal. As one of the most important members of the Church of England, this conversion shocked that church, and many priests and laity followed him into the Catholic Church.

Some of his important writings include Apologia Pro Vita Sua (his autobiography and defense of his conversion to Catholicism), the Development of Doctrine, and much more, including literary works. He is considered the most important Catholic theologian of the 19th century.
   
Cardinal Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010, and was canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 19, 2019.
   
Already named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo, the official date for the celebration of that event has not been announced.
—Fr. Mike Comer