Pope Leo, on All Saints’ Day, proclaims Newman doctor of the Church, co-patron of education

November 03, 2025

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square on November 1 and proclaimed St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890) a doctor of the Church and co-patron, along with St. Thomas Aquinas, of the Church’s educational mission (booklet, video).

“Newman’s impressive spiritual and cultural stature will surely serve as an inspiration to new generations whose hearts thirst for the infinite, and who, through research and knowledge, are willing to undertake that journey which, as the ancients said, takes us per aspera ad astra, through difficulties to the stars,” Pope Leo preached at the Mass, the culmination of the Jubilee of Education, one of the events of the 2025 jubilee year.

Offering encouragement to educators, Pope Leo reflected on the Scripture readings, as well as on one of Newman’s poems, “The Pillar of the Cloud.” The Pope said:

The Beatitudes, however, are not just another teaching; they are the teaching par excellence. In the same way, the Lord Jesus is not just one of many teachers, he is the Master par excellence. Moreover, he is the Educator par excellence. We are his disciples and are in his “school.” We learn how to discover in his life, namely in the path he has travelled, a horizon of meaning capable of shining a light on all forms of knowledge. May our schools and universities always be places of listening to the Gospel and putting it into practice!

“I pray that Catholic education will help each person to discover their own call to holiness,” Pope Leo concluded. “Saint Augustine, whom Saint John Henry Newman greatly admired, once said that we are fellow students who have one Teacher, whose school is on earth and whose chair is in heaven” (cf. Serm. 292,1).

During his Angelus address at the conclusion of Mass, Pope Leo offered words of welcome to the official delegation of the Church of England, which Newman left as he entered the Catholic Church in 1845. The Pope added:

Sisters and brothers, the mystery of the communion of saints, which we breathe in deeply today, reminds us of the final destiny of humanity: a great celebration in which we rejoice together in the love of God, present in all, recognizing and admiring the multifaceted beauty of faces, all different and all resembling the face of Christ. As we anticipate this future reality, we feel even more strongly and painfully how this contrasts with the tragedies that the human family is suffering because of injustice and war. We urgently feel the duty to be builders of fraternity. Let us entrust our prayer and our commitment to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints!

 

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Further information:

• All Saints' Day – Holy Mass and proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as “Doctor of the Church” (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 11/1/25)
• Angelus (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 11/1/25)