St. Cardinal John Henry Newman becomes Doctor of the Church

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DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — ALL SAINTS’ DAY IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH THIS YEAR WILL HAVE A NEW ASPECT TO IT: 19th-century theologian Cardinal John Henry Newman officially becomes a Doctor of the Church on Nov. 1, after Pope Leo XIV announced this in July.

Newman was an Anglican priest who became one of the founders of the Oxford Movement – named for its members’ association with the university – which involved High-Church clergy and members of the Church of England. The movement emphasized the inclusion of Catholicism into Anglican liturgy and eventually grew into Anglo-Catholicism.

Newman was also a devotee of the 16th-century St. Philip of Neri, who is also called the patron saint of joy, and who founded Oratories around Europe. Newman also founded the first English Oratorian communities in the mid-19th century. The Brooklyn Oratory of St. Philip Neri in the Brooklyn Commons has a connection to this legacy.

Newman, whom Pope Francis canonized a saint in 2019, is now also recognized as one of 38 Doctors of the Church who had profound contributions to theology or doctrine. Many Newman Centers at colleges and universities were also created and named for him.

St. John Henry Newman was the subject of the Brooklyn Oratory Parishes’ 2025 Baronius Lecture.

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