Less than an hour ago, the news was published on the Bolletino Vaticano that St John Henry Newman will be formally recognized as a Doctor of the Church. “On July 31, 2025, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, in the course of which, the Holy Father confirmed the affirmative judgment of the Plenary Session of Cardinals and Bishops, the members of said dicastery, concerning the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, which will soon be conferred on St John Henry Newman, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, founder of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in England; born in London (UK), on February 21, 1801, died at Edgbaston (UK), on August 11, 1890.”
With this decree, St John Henry becomes the 38th Doctor of the Church, the first Oratorian to be granted the title, the second Englishman, after the Venerable Bede, and the third cardinal, after Ss Bonaventure and Robert Bellarmine. (St Anselm, the eleventh Doctor, is often called “of Canterbury” because of the episcopal see he held, but he was Italian by birth, from the northern region of the Val d’Aosta.) He is also the first Doctor of the Church who converted from Protestantism.
The late and greatly lamented Fr Hunwicke repeatedly stated his belief that this honor would be conferred, and almost four years ago, on the new Doctor’s feast day (October 9th),
he prophetically guessed at the name of the Pope who would confer it, and wrote, “S John Henry had to wait for the election of Papa Pecci (
i.e. Leo XIII) before he received proper honours (
i.e. the cardinalate). May we hope for a Leo XIV? Subito!” Of course, this has been in process for a while, but nevertheless, I cannot think of any occasion on which a Pope declared a Doctor so early in his pontificate, so
subito it has been indeed - feliciter!
