Vatican City, Nov 1, 2025 / 08:45 am

Pope Leo XIV has declared St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church, recognizing the English cardinal and theologian—one of the most influential converts from Anglicanism—as a towering figure of faith and intellect in modern Catholicism.

The declaration took place at the beginning of Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1, celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the Jubilee of Education. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, read Newman’s biography and formally requested that the Pope proclaim the saint a Doctor of the Church.

Pope Leo then read in Latin the solemn formula declaring Newman the 38th doctor of the Universal Church. The pope also named Newman co-patron of Catholic education, putt

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