Sainthood for cardinal after 60-year campaign

THE Catholic Church has announced that Birmingham’s most revered cardinal is to be made a saint.

Cardinal John Henry Newman will be canonised by Pope Francis in Rome in the autumn, following a 60-year campaign.

He will be the first English person who has lived since the 17th century to be officially made a saint by the Church.

Cardinal Newman lived from 1801 to 1890 and founded the Birmingham Oratory on the bHagley Road in Edgbaston. He started his religious career as a Church of England priest, but converted to Catholicism in 1845.

When he died aged 89 more than 15,000 people lined the streets of Birmingham for his funeral.

The campaign to get him a sainthood began in 1958.

He was declared “Venerable” by Pope John Paul II in 1991, and in 2010 Pope Benedict XVI upgraded this to “Blessed” in Cofton Park, Rednal, during his historic visit to Birmingham. His canonisation has been made possible after he was said to have played a part in performing a second miracle involving saving the life of a pregnant woman in Chicago in 2013.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England, welcomed news of the canonisation.

The cardinal, who is also a former Archbishop of Birmingham, said: “This is a moment of great pride.

“John Henry Newman is known for many great qualities, but we remember him particularly for the kindness

John Henry Newman was born in London on February 21, 1801, during the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of six children – three brothers and three sisters

His father was a banker. Newman helped to pay for his own education by winning a £60 scholarship

His academic career took him to Trinity College, Oxford, where he achieved only a third-class degree, but he went on to gain a fellowship at Oriel College and was subsequently ordained as a clergyman of the Church of England

As a young man, Newman was an Orthodox Anglican. He became the intellectual leader of the Catholic wing of the Church of England before converting to Catholicism

Newman was a profound and penetrating preacher and also did a great deal of work with the poor and needy.

and compassion of his ministry the people of Birmingham.

“At his death they turned out in their thousands to salute a muchloved priest on his funeral procession from Birmingham to Rednal.”

The canonisation will take place in St Peter’s Square on October 13 alongside four others.

The announcement will delight Newman’s 65 million devotees scattered across the world. The United States, Canada and Ireland have been particular hotbeds of support for his sainthood.

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