Cause of John Henry Cardinal Newman
Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman
21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890
The Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman was an Anglican received into the Catholic Church in 1845.
He was made a Cardinal in 1879. The cause for his beatification is currently being considered. He was declared a Venerable by the late Pope John Paul II in 1991 after the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints decreed that he exercised all of the Christian virtues in a heroic degree.
His remains currently lie by the Oratory house in Rednal, near Birmingham, but will be exhumed and placed in a sarcophagus in the Oratory Church, Edgbaston later this year.
When a person of heroic virtue is on the path to recognised sainthood, their earthly remains have to be identified, preserved and if necessary moved to a new resting place to reflect their new status in the Church and enable more people to pay their respects.
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Latest news
Translation of remains of Cardinal Newman at his Birmingham Oratory
2 Nov 08
The casket containing relics of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), along with items recovered from his grave at Rednal, were solemnly placed in the chapel of St Charles Borromeo, at the end of an historic High Mass of All Saints, celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Nichols, in Latin, at the Birmingham Oratory, Edgbaston, on Sunday 2 November.
The remains were carried in solemn procession from the Upper Cloister Hall, where many people had prayed in their presence for Cardinal Newman's speedy beatification, into the Newman Memorial Church, where they were placed on a catafalque in front of the chapel of St Philip Neri (1515-1595) who founded the Congregation of the Oratory.
Vigil for reception for remains of Cardinal Newman
1 Nov 08
A Vigil of Reception for the remains of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was held in the Upper Cloister Hall at the Birmingham Oratory, in Edgbaston, on Friday 31 October and on Saturday 1 November.
When visitors entered the Cloister Hall, situated on Birmingham's Hagley Road, they were entering a part of the Oratory buildings that Cardinal Newman himself knew. This large hall was constructed as part of the provision made by the Fathers of the Oratory for their School, which Father John Henry Newman opened in May 1859.
Arrangements for a Vigil of Reception
10 Oct 08
The remains of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman will be placed in a glass-sided casket in the Upper Cloister Hall at the Birmingham Oratory, on Friday 31 and Saturday 1 November 2008.
The remains will include locks of Cardinal Newman's hair, already in the possession of the Fathers of the Oratory, a small cross and clothing found in the grave, and some wood from the Cardinal’s original oak coffin.
Everything recovered from Cardinal Newman’s grave is presently in the care of one of the country’s leading specialists in conservation, the York Archaeological Trust, including the brass Cardinal’s insignia that decorated the top of the coffin.
The times during which visitors will have an opportunity to pray in the presence of the remains are 9am to 8pm.
No physical remains of Cardinal Newman found in his grave at Rednal
4 Oct 08
The grave of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman was excavated on Thursday 2 October 2008, Feast of the Guardian Angels. Due to the damp burial conditions and the fact that Cardinal Newman was laid to rest in a wooden rather than lead-lined coffin, no actual physical remains were found. Brass, wooden and cloth artefacts were recovered.
Peter Jennings, Press Secretary to the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory and for the Cause of the Beatification and Canonisation of Cardinal Newman, said in a statement that the Cause will continue in Rome unaffected. He explained the discovery:
“In the view of the medical and health professionals in attendance, burial in a wooden coffin in a very damp site makes this kind of total decomposition of the body unsurprising."
Cardinal Newman Lying-in-State and Reinterment Mass
1 Oct 08
The Press Secretary to the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory and for the Cause of the Beatification and Canonisation of the Venerable John Henry Newman has today announced details of Cardinal Newman's Lying-in-State and information on his reinterment.
Cardinal Newman's remains will lie in state in the Upper Cloister Hall at the Birmingham Oratory, Edgbaston, on Friday 31 October and Saturday 1 November 2008.
A special reinterment Mass, led by Archbishop Vincent Nichols, will be celebrated at the Birmingham Oratory at 11am on Sunday, 2 November 2008, the transferred Feast of All Saints.
How does a person become a saint in the Catholic Church?
The road to sainthood begins when someone, inspired by a holy man or woman who has died, prays to that person asking them to take forth their prayers to God.
When extraordinary and miraculous signs occur that cannot be explained by anything other than the hand of God - for example a cure to an illness or ailment - the miracle can be more thoroughly examined by a local bishop.
He will then decide whether to set up a panel of experts to look into that person's life and faith before the case passes to the Vatican where it is judged on its merits by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
If miracles are attributed to that person's intercession, they must verified by experts e.g. doctors. Then, if there is reason to proceed further, the bishop may petition Rome to begin the process of beatification - the step before a person is canonised (made a saint in the Catholic Church).
Cardinal John Henry Newman's cause
Jack Sullivan, a 69-year old Permanent Deacon from Marshfield near Boston, Massachusetts, was suffering from an extremely serious spinal disorder when he first prayed through the intercession of Cardinal Newman.
Deacon Sullivan was healed of his spinal disorder on 15 August 2001, the Feast of the Assumption.
As the Cause progressed in Rome, Fr Paul Chavasse, Provost of the Birmingham Oratory and Postulator of the Newman Cause said: "We now hope and pray for a positive outcome for the remaining steps of the process to beatify our Cardinal."
Fr Chavasse added: "The Fathers, at Newman's Oratory here in Edgbaston, would encourage people throughout the world to redouble their prayers for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman."
Cardinal Newman's body to be placed in the Oratory Church, Birmingham
21 Aug 08
The body of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman, is to be exhumed and placed in a marble sarcophagus that will stand between the marble columns opposite the Holy Souls Altar in the Oratory Church, Edgbaston.
The announcement was made by the Provost of the Birmingham Oratory and Postulator of the Cause for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman, at the end of Mass held in the church on Sunday 27 July.
Fr Chavasse continued: “The sarcophagus will be a shade of green, and on it will be an inscription in silver lettering, a reproduction of Cardinal Newman’s Coat of Arms, and his motto: ‘Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem’ (From shadows and images into the Truth).
Prayers for Cardinal Newman on the anniversary of his death
11 Aug 08
On a Sunday afternoon in August, special prayers for the beatification and canonisation of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman were said at his graveside in the small secluded cemetery at the Oratory House, Rednal, on the outskirts of Birmingham.
A special Mass was celebrated at the Birmingham Oratory the following evening, Monday 11 August, the anniversary of Cardinal Newman's death in the Oratory House at Edgbaston on Monday 11 August 1890, at the age of 89. The preacher at the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit was Fr Jerome Bertram, a member of the Oxford Oratory, who spoke on the topic: Newman, the pastoral parish priest.
Cardinal Newman was buried in his priestly vestments, in a lead-lined coffin, at the Oratory retreat at Rednal, following his funeral Mass on Tuesday 19 August 1890.
Prayer for Beatification and Canonisation
Eternal Father, you led John Henry Newman to follow the kindly light of Truth, and he obediently responded to your heavenly calls at any cost. As writer, preacher, counsellor and educator, as pastor, Oratorian, and servant of the poor he laboured to build up your Kingdom.
Grant that through your Vicar on earth we may hear the words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the company of the canonized saints.”
May you manifest your Servant’s power of intercession by even extraordinary answers to the prayers of the faithful throughout the world. We pray particularly for the following intentions in his name and in the name of Jesus Christ your Son.
We ask this through Christ our Lord,
AMEN
Cardinal Newman takes his place in Westminster Cathedral
4 Sept 08
A new mosaic by artist Tom Philips was blessed after the 5.30pm Mass on 10th September in Westminster Cathedral.
Fr Paul Chavasse Provost of the Birmingham Oratory preached at the Mass ‘on the importance of Cardinal Newman today’ in his capacity as Postulator of the cause for the canonisation and beatification of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.
Audio:
Homily: Fr Paul Chavasse "on the importance of Cardinal Newman today" (mp3)
Homily:
Fr Paul Chavasse's homily on the importance of Cardinal Newman today (pdf)
One of Cardinal Newman's prayers
God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission - I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work;
I shall be a preacher of Truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.
Therefore, my God, I will put myself without reserve into your hands. What have I in heaven, and apart from you what do I want upon earth?
My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the God of my heart.
Link to the official site of the Cause of Cardinal Newman:
Acknowledgments:
Scrolling images in the Flash gallery (c) CCN - please email ccn@cbcew.org.uk for permission to use.
All other images are (c) Peter Jennings.