The intersection of Catholicism and education raised important, yet controversial, questions and prompted many discussions in the nineteenth century. Increased freedoms for Catholics in England opened many educational, financial, and societal opportunities. They could attend prestigious universities and finish degrees without professing Protestant oaths or having religious examinations.

On 26 March 1825, John Henry Newman was appointed vice-principal of St. Alban Hall, Oxford. The position, which he held for a year, meant acting as tutor, chaplain, bursar, and dean of its dozen undergraduates, giving most of the lectures, setting weekly assignments, and dining with the students three times a week.

Laval’s originality lies in his reliance upon the catechists and treasurers he trained, which was the original reason for the pastoral success on Mauritius. Laval’s influence is evidenced by the 40,000 people who were drawn to his funeral in 1864. Through him and those who came to help him, the emancipated enslaved people discovered how much they were loved, and they responded to that love beyond all hope. 

William Bernard Ullathorne (1806–1889) was a wise and humble man known for his devotion to the priests and nuns under his charge. Although he had a strong preference for monastic life, Ullathorne willingly served the church whenever he was called.

Newman, as an Anglican, had a high Mariology (for an Anglican, a surprisingly high Mariology), yet he also combined his reverence for Mary with some kind of caution or warning that such notions could lead to doctrines and practices that were not sanctioned by the Church of England. In reality, that caution (or warning) was both a message by Newman to his congregation and a message to himself—to a conscience that was beginning to doubt the veracity of his own ideas. 

In 2004, German Catholic scholar Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz edited and published a posthumous edition of Ida Görres’ book on Newman, Der Geopferte: ein anderer Blick auf John Henry Newman, which Görres had originally written in the 1940s. In this interview, Jennifer Bryson asks Gerl-Falkovitz about the project and the knowledge gained in editing Görres' work. Bryson has published a new English translation of the book entitled John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed.

As the calendar year draws to a close, many face the onerous preparations and obligations that mark the holiday season, and the hustle and bustle and frenzy of the shopping season is palpable—not to mention year-end reports or grading for some. Cards, lists, stores, travel. In the northern hemisphere, and places like Pittsburgh, the sun takes its leave far too early each day, and the bitter winds test the worth of our textiles.

Cardinal Herbert Vaughan––most known for his tenure as Archbishop of Westminster, England, and for founding Saint Joseph’s Missionary Society of Mill Hill––journeyed to and across the Southern United States in 1872. He aimed to document the hindrances that could and did threaten the introduction and widespread dissemination of Catholicism in African American communities throughout the once-Confederate territories. 

Two hundred years ago, on 13 June 1824, the young Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, who today the Church celebrates as a saint, made his way down the High and St. Aldate’s with his surplice and his MA hood, to be made a deacon of the Church of England in Christ Church Cathedral, the former medieval nunnery and shrine to St. Frideswide until Thomas Wolsey chose it to become Cardinal College in 1525.

In the summer of 1824, John Henry Newman preached his very first sermon shortly after being ordained as a deacon. He would go on to preach myriad sermons of enduring value. Generations of Christians have been and continue to be nourished by both his Parochial and Plain Sermons and University Sermons, as well as sermons from his Roman Catholic period. Two-hundred years later, we gathered together not only to commemorate the beginning of St. Newman’s preaching ministry, but also to explore and reflect on the wider topic of “Newman as Preacher” at the very churches in which he preached. This intimate, on-site conference featured three public keynote lectures along with other spiritually-enriching activities.