Saint John Henry Newman was born on 21 February 1801 in London, England. As an Anglican cler­gyman for over twenty years he won renown as a preacher and theologian. A Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, he became one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement and a prominent figure in the Church of England.

On 9 October 1845, at Littlemore near Oxford, he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Passionist Congregation. Bishop Nicholas Wiseman offered the former buildings of St Mary’s College to Newman and his companions while they discerned their future.

In 1847, following  ordination as priest in Rome Newman returned to England where he established the first English Oratory at Old Oscott, now known as Maryvale. In 1848 the Oratory was moved to Digbeth, before being established on its current  site in Edgbaston in 1852.

He was an influential writer on many subjects, most notably the development of Christian doctrine, the true understanding of conscience, faith and reason, the role of the laity, and university education. In 1879 he was created Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII and given the title of San Giorgio in Velabro. He died in the Birmingham Oratory on 11 August 1890.

John Henry Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 at a Mass in Cofton Park, Birmingham and canonised by Pope Francis on 13 October 2019. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo on 1 November 2025.

The feast of St John Henry Newman is kept on October 9th.

O God, who bestowed on your Priest
    Saint John Henry Newman
the grace to follow your kindly light
    and find peace in your Church;
graciously grant that, through his intercession and example,
we may be led out of shadows and images
into the fullness of your truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

• Places associated with St John Henry Newman in the Archdiocese include Oriel College, Oxford; the College at Littlemore; Maryvale; and the Oratory in Birmingham.

Photographs (c) 2017, 2026 Allen Morris.

The National Shrine to St John Henry Newman, The Birmingham Oratory.

From a photograph of St John Henry Newman

Newman's chair and desk at the College at Littlemore.

Roundel from Window in Sacred Heart Chapel, Maryvale commemorating the foundaiton of the Oratory there.