The Vatican’s decision to name Saint John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church has been met with enthusiasm and gratitude from Catholics across the United Kingdom. 

As CatholicVote reported, the Dicastery for Saints’ Causes confirmed July 31 that Pope Leo XIV had accepted the recommendation of bishops and cardinals to confer the title on the 19th-century English cardinal, a convert and theologian. 

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, called the move “a huge encouragement to all who appreciate not only his great learning but also his heroic sanctity in following the call of God in his journey of faith.”

An Aug. 1 article by journalist Jonathan Luxmoore, published by The Good Newsroom, detailed the wide-ranging praise for the move, which elevates the cardinal turned saint to one of the Church’s most honored ranks.

Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, based in Oxford, praised the development as “excellent news,” pointing to Cardinal Newman’s lasting impact on the Second Vatican Council. Cardinal Radcliffe credited the soon-to-be Doctor of the Church with helping the Church “understand how the Church’s teaching on the mystery of God unfolds in history,” according to Luxmoore’s report.

Monsignor Roderick Strange, rector of Mater Ecclesiae College in London and a biographer of the saint, also spoke to his enduring relevance. 

“In pioneering Vatican II ideas, he provided guidance for how today’s Church seeks to renew itself,” he said. “This raising of his profile will provide a great renewal impulse, prompting people to appreciate his influence on so many important features of Church life today.”

Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, who hosted the saint’s beatification Mass, praised the spiritual character of his life and writing. He pointed to the cardinal’s motto, “Heart speaks to heart,” saying it still communicates “to us at the deepest level of our being.” 

Archbishop Longley added that St. John Henry Newman will be the third Englishman to be declared a Doctor of the Church, following St. Bede the Venerable and St. Anselm of Canterbury.

The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales also welcomed the Vatican’s recognition of the saint, noting that his theological legacy has been praised by every pope since Leo XIII. 

In a statement reported by Luxmoore, the conference said that some saints continue to speak across time and cultural shifts “because of their own faithful discipleship, and responsiveness to the Holy Spirit.” 

They added that while many Doctors of the Church are recognized for a specific area of thought, Newman stands out “for the breadth of his teaching … his influence upon various branches of doctrine and theology, and his engagement with problems of faith which remain burning issues in our own time.”

Father William Lamb, one of Cardinal Newman’s successors as Anglican vicar of Oxford’s University Church of St. Mary, pointed to the saint’s role in liturgical renewal prior to his conversion. He told Luxmoore that the Church’s recognition of Cardinal Newman’s work “as both an Anglican and a Roman Catholic” would be received “with the same joy” by both traditions, thanks to a deep spirit of friendship between them.