About Newman
Devotion to the Saints and to St. John Henry Newman
October 8, 2025
Devotion to the Saints and to St. John Henry Newman
St. John Henry Newman is a relatively new saint for Catholics. He was declared a saint on October 13, 2019, by Pope Francis. Cardinal Newman, as many know him, was admired and loved from the time of his death in 1890, but over the last few decades devotion to him has gradually increased.
As Catholics, we have devotion to exemplary Christians who have gone before us. The word devotion means “to vow, dedicate, or consecrate oneself to,” and comes from the Latin de = “completely” + vovēre = “to vow.” In this sense, to have devotion to a given saint is to dedicate oneself to that saint’s teaching and example.
Friendship is another word for devotion. This friendship with a saint arises in different ways and grows over time. Following the ancient adage that one cannot love what one does not know, we can say that one cannot love a saint whose life one does not know. In other words, the more one learns about the life and teaching of a saint, the more one comes to love that saint.
Friendship with a saint grows by reading a biography of that saint and by reading his writings. Such reading often inspires the spiritual life of the reader. The saint’s closeness to God prompts a person to seek his prayers. As the friendship deepens, the saint becomes a patron and intercessor.
Devotion to a saint also grows through prayer. This prayer may follow a text composed by someone or take the form of spontaneous conversation with the saint. In time, it is natural for a person to introduce friends to the life of a particular saint.
As a young man at Oxford, John Henry Newman had adversaries because of religious differences and university politics. Over the years, however, he learned to moderate his passions and developed many friendships. Through his effort to grow in charity, he came to treat people with respect and kindness. In his mature years and at the end of his life, he was widely admired and loved.
There are many sympathetic biographies of Newman, such as those by Ian Ker, Louis Bouyer, Meriol Trevor, Brian Martin, Zeno, and one authored by me. These works, varying in length and style, bring the reader into contact with Newman’s pursuit of religious truth, his struggles, disappointments, and friendships. The pictorial biography by Kathleen Dietz and Mary-Birgit Dechants, with its quotes from Newman’s correspondence, is especially engaging.
Direct reading of Newman’s correspondence and diaries, and of his Apologia pro Vita Sua, paints a picture of this exceptionally intelligent, humorous, warm, and prayerful man. The saints are not aloof; on the contrary, in imitation of Jesus, they live for others and pay attention to details.
Friendship with a saint also grows by looking frequently at a photo or painting of that saint. The look in the eyes and the smile on the lips build ties of affection. Such glances easily lead to spontaneous prayers and petitions.
The saints are the friends of God, and devotion to them brings us into deeper friendship with God. Newman’s feast day was set by the Holy See as October 9, the date when, in 1845, he was received into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church. On a day like today, we wish to praise and thank God for his saints. God is glorified in his saints, in the holiness they show forth. Today is a particularly good occasion to ask God for some spiritual or material favor through the intercession of St. John Henry Newman.
