Pope Leo XIV proclaimed St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church on November 1, 2025, and formally added him to the General Roman Calendar with an optional memorial on October 9, the anniversary of his 1845 conversion from Anglicanism. A decree signed by Cardinal Arthur Roche and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola assigns Newman, the 38th Doctor of the Church, as co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. The recognition honors Newman’s influence on theology, conscience, and ecclesiology, extending his feast beyond England and Wales to the universal Church, with new liturgical texts now required in every diocese’s Mass books and Liturgy of the Hours.
Pope Leo XIV has decreed that St. John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian and convert recently named the 38th Doctor of the Church, will be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar with an optional memorial on October 9 each year. The decree, signed November 9, 2025, by Cardinal Arthur Roche and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was published February 3, 2026.
The date commemorates Newman’s reception into the Catholic Church on October 9, 1845, after years as an Anglican priest and leading figure in the Oxford Movement. Born in 1801 and dying in 1890, Newman was created cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879, declared venerable in 1991, beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis in 2019. Pope Leo XIV proclaimed him Doctor of the Church on November 1, 2025, during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square. His writings on faith and conscience continue to influence contemporary discussions on theological formation.
Until now, Newman’s feast was observed only within the Oratory congregation he founded and in the calendar of England and Wales. The new decree elevates his liturgical status to a memoria ad libitum, meaning bishops and priests worldwide may choose to celebrate his memorial. Episcopal conferences must translate the Latin liturgical texts provided by the Dicastery and submit them for confirmation before publication, following norms established in recent documents governing liturgical translation.
Cardinal Roche described Newman as a radiant light for the Church on pilgrimage through history, highlighting his constant search for truth and his contributions to theology, ecclesiology, poetry, and devotion. The decree references Newman’s journey from shadows to the fullness of truth, led by what he famously called the kindly light of God’s grace. The Gospel reading designated for the feast comes from Matthew chapter 13, featuring the parable of the net and the text on the master of a house. The inclusion follows the Universal Norms of 1969, which stipulate that only saints of universal significance may be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar.
The timing connects to the Jubilee of the World of Education and underscores Newman’s role as co-patron of the Church’s educational mission alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. The decree, numbered 760/25, formally inserts Newman among the saintly Doctors in all Mass books and the Liturgy of the Hours used throughout the universal Church.
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