John Henry Newman and The Newman Movement

John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890)

John Henry Newman was an Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism as a result of his leadership in the Oxford Movement. While teaching at Oxford University, he promoted a consistent pursuit of religious truth as a necessary function of a university education. Newman was an influential thinker who made significant contributions to the academic disciplines of theology, philosophy, and education. His teachings help provide the intellectual foundation of liberal studies programs in both religious and secular universities. Cardinal Newman is still regarded as one of the most significant Catholic thinkers and is regarded as a patron saint of students, particularly those pursuing the insights of religious truth.

The Newman Movement

The Newman Movement grew out of the experience of Catholic students on the campuses of non-Catholic colleges. Catholic students at the University of Wisconsin were invited to the home of John and Frances Melvin on Thanksgiving Day in 1883 for the study of church history and literature. The invitation resulted from the students feeling ostracized from the church because they were attending a secular university and experienced strong anti-catholic sentiments on the part of many of their teachers. Timothy Harrington, one of the original members of "The Melvin Club", went on to attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania where he started a group for Catholic students. These first clubs developed branches at numerous colleges and gave birth to many organizations which support faith-based inquiry on secular campuses. Today, Newman is a student-focused and lay-administered organization that seeks to bring the insights of theology together with one's professional education in order to form Catholic men and women for leadership in society.

Cardinal Newman is expected to be beatified in May! We will be celebrating this great occasion!