Last week, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had approved the canonisation of John Henry Newman, who was Vicar of the University Church from 1828-1843. It is anticipated that the canonisation may take place later this year. As an Anglican priest, Newman had a remarkable ministry. Crowds flocked to hear his sermons. With John Keble and Edward Bouverie Pusey, he became one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, one of the great movements for revival in the Church of England in the course of the nineteenth century. 

When Anglican clergy are ordained, one of the legal preliminaries is the Declaration of Assent, which begins with the line ’The Church of England is part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, worshipping the one true God’. The emphasis on the 'catholic and apostolic' character of the church is so prominent partly because of the debates and controversies generated by the Oxford Movement in the early nineteenth century. Newman was never one to avoid controversy, but I suspect the conflicts and controversies in which he engaged took their toll. In 1845, he became a Roman Catholic, having preached tearfully a sermon entitled ’The Parting of Friends’ at the little church at Littlemore which he had helped to build.

’The Parting of Friends’ is a phrase that perhaps conjures up a number of contrasting images. We can think of a ‘parting’ in the sense of a rupture, a break, a separation, a breakdown in a relationship. ‘A parting' may be accompanied by animosity and suspicion. Newman was not without his critics and he responded robustly to some of the criticisms made against him in his Apologia pro vita sua. But a parting of ‘friends'? That opens up something more hopeful, the enduring nature of friendship, the promise of a future reconciliation. The paradox is that although Newman’s path to Rome was greeted with horror and consternation by many Anglicans at the time, the truth is that he continued to draw on his Anglican inheritance of faith as he explored the relationship between faith and reason. It is no accident that when Roman Catholics celebrate Newman’s influence as a theologian, they point not only to his writings as a Roman Catholic but also to the many sermons he preached at St Mary’s. 

Newman's spiritual journey has enabled both churches to see just how much we hold in common, and his thinking continues to animate ecumenical dialogue between our churches, not least in the work of ARCIC. This means that we can look forward to celebrating his legacy of scholarship and ministry together with Roman Catholic friends and colleagues. No doubt we will continue to welcome the many pilgrims who will come to visit St Mary’s in the years ahead to see the place where Newman preached and ministered. Moreover, we will continue to honour Newman's legacy as we develop our partnership with the parish of Littlemore. 

A prayer of John Henry Newman

Support us, O Lord, all the day long of this troublous life, until the shades lengthen, the evening comes, the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over and our work is done. Then, Lord, in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Christ our Lord. Amen.