About us

The College name is derived from that of the renowned 19th century English scholar and philosopher, Cardinal John Henry Newman.  The religious life of England during the nineteenth century was dominated by one man, John Henry Newman (1801-1890). He spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Catholic. His influence on both churches was, and still is, profound.

Newman first became well-known as the leader of the Oxford Movement, a group of young Anglicans at Oxford University who were trying to reform the Church of England and make it less Protestant. Later on, Newman was accused of being a secret Roman Catholic and resigned his post as Vicar of St. Mary's Anglican Church in Oxford. He went to live in the nearby village of Littlemore and, after finishing writing his book, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, decided to become a Roman Catholic in October 1845. This was far from the end of Newman's troubles. Many Protestants said that this proved he had been a secret Roman Catholic all the time while many Catholics suspected that he was still a Protestant at heart. His forward thinking views were opposed by conservative elements in the Catholic Church, so he decided to write a history of his religious opinions. He called it Apologia Pro Vita Sua (A Defence of His Life) and when it was completed in June 1864 it was an instantaneous success. The honesty of the book convinced fair-minded Protestants that he was utterly sincere in his beliefs. In Rome, Pope Pius IX remained suspicious to the end but his successor, Pope Leo XIII, made Newman a Cardinal in 1879.When Newman died at the age of 89, Catholics and Protestants alike mourned him.

As Desmond Forrestal says in his book, The Christian Heritage: (Newman) had given Protestants a new appreciation of the sacraments, of the dignity of worship, of the importance of tradition in the life of the Church. He had taught Catholics to respect the views of others and to recognise that truth itself does not change but our understanding of it does. He had inspired the pioneers of the movement for reunion among Christians. He had laid the foundations of the Second Vatican Council. He was certainly a great man and possibly a saint. August 11, 1990 marked the centenary of the death of our patron, Cardinal John Henry Newman.