On July 31, Pope Leo XIV accepted the recommendation of members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints that St. John Henry Newman, the 19thcentury English theologian and scholar of early Church history, should be declared the next “Doctor of the Church.” He is the 38th saint to be given that title by the See of St. Peter. Newman will also be co-patron of education with St. Thomas Aquinas. Newman is renowned for his autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864) that tells the story of his long and deeply considered conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism, but above all for his famous book An Essay on the Development of Doctrine (1845), which has had a profound influence on Catholic theology, and especially on the case for the truth of the Catholic faith. Holy mysteries Catholics at the time were troubled by the fact that many historians had clearly shown that a number of important Catholic doctrines (such as some Catholic beliefs about Mary and the Eucharist) did not seem to be explicitly taught either in Holy Scripture or by the early Church Fathers and saints. But Newman reminded his readers that it would be impossible for any individual, or for any community of faith — even the inspired Apostles themselves! — to have a completely clear and explicit understanding of all the mysteries of the faith, simply because these are holy mysteries. No community of finite minds and recovering sinners can fully comprehend and fully express the truth about the infinite nature of God, or the unfathomable depths of Christ’s By Robert Stackpole, STD The Newest Doctor 26 Marian Helper • Winter 2025-26 • Marian.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==