The archbishop of Birmingham has welcomed reports that the Vatican is investigating a possible second “miracle” which may lead to the canonisation of Blessed John Henry Newman.
Archbishop Bernard Longley said it was a “great joy” to know that the Cause was making progress. He said the occasion should also spur on Catholics to renew their prayers for the canonisation of Blessed Dominic Barberi, who received Newman into the Catholic faith from the Church of England.
“Blessed Cardinal Newman has left an extraordinarily rich spiritual legacy – not least through the two Oratory communities in Birmingham and Oxford – as well as to the Church nationally and internationally,” the archbishop said.
“It would be a great joy to see him take a step closer to being named among the saints and would be an encouragement to all who have been inspired by him to seek the truth by seeking Christ. At the same time, and especially during this Jubilee Year of Mercy, I am sure that Blessed John Henry Newman would want us to continue praying for the canonisation of Blessed Dominic Barberi, the Passionist priest who first enabled him to receive the Sacrament of Confession at his reception into full communion with the Catholic Church at Littlemore in 1845, and who gave him a new insight into the merciful love of God.”
The archbishop spoke after The Tablet, a Catholic weekly, reported that the Archdiocese of Chicago had investigated the inexplicable healing of a young American mother who prayed for the Victorian cardinal’s intercession when she became afflicted by a “life-threatening pregnancy”.
Doctors who treated her have reported that they have no explanation for her sudden and complete recovery. The file on her case has been passed to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and if Vatican theologians and doctors conclude that the healing is a divine sign of Newman’s sanctity the Pope will be invited to canonise him as the first English saint since 1970 and the first British saint since 1976.
Two healing miracles are normally required for a candidate to be declared a saint. Cardinal Newman was beatified in Cofton Park, Birmingham, by Benedict XVI in 2010 after the Vatican approved the first miracle, which involved the inexplicable healing of Jack Sullivan, an American deacon who recovered from a crippling spinal condition which had left him “bent double”.
An earlier alleged healing of a baby in Mexico at Newman’s intercession was dismissed by the Congregation and the Vatican is refusing to disclose further details about the latest case at the present time.
The London-born cardinal was an esteemed 19th-century Anglican theologian who founded the Oxford Movement which tried to return the Church of England to its Catholic roots before he converted to the Catholic faith. He was renowned for his virtue and for his reputation as a brilliant thinker and Leo XIII rewarded him with a cardinal’s red hat. He died in Birmingham in 1890, aged 89, and more than 15,000 people lined the streets for his funeral procession to pay tribute to him.
Cardinal Nichols ordains two auxiliary bishops
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has ordained two new auxiliary bishops for Westminster diocese. He ordained Bishop Paul McAleenan and Bishop John Wilson on Monday, the feast of the Conversion of St Paul, at Westminster Cathedral.
Bishop McAleenan has been assigned the titular see of Mercia and Bishop Wilson the titular see of Lindisfarne. Cardinal Nichols was the main celebrant at the Mass, assisted by auxiliaries Bishop John Sherrington and Bishop Nicholas Hudson. Also present at the Mass were Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio, and Archbishop Arthur Roche, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Also in attendance were archbishops, bishops and nearly 200 priests from across England and Wales. Sheffield-born Bishop Wilson was a parish priest at St Martin de Porres in Wakefield before his appointment, having served as an assistant priest in Bradford and as a hospital, prison and school chaplain. He was named a chaplain to Benedict XVI in May 2011.
Bishop McAleenan was born in Belfast in 1951. He has served as parish priest of Holy Rood, Watford, since 2001 and was appointed a member of the cathedral chapter in 2010. In his homily, Cardinal Nichols focused on the lessons from the life of St Paul, saying that “every bishop is chosen by the Father and given to his Son to be his companion in a special way” and that this is the “deepest identity of the bishop: to be a companion, with the Apostles of the Lord Jesus.”
Abbey establishes pilgrimage
Pluscarden abbey has unveiled plans for a pilgrimage tracing the journey that led to its founding nearly 800 years ago. The 1230 Pluscarden Pilgrimage next year will retrace steps taken by Valliscaulian monks from Burgundy to north-east Scotland. The aim is to raise funds towards the £5 million costs of rebuilding the abbey’s South Range, and is the idea of retired Gordon Highlander, Lt Col David Broadfoot MBE.
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