Pope names St. Newman patron of his alma mater in Rome November 3, 2025By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Saints, Vatican, World News VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The same day Pope Leo XIV proclaimed St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church, he also named the British saint patron of the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome. In a document signed Nov. 1 and released Nov. 3, Pope Leo said he made the decision so that St. Newman would “intercede for this academic institution and be, for all those who are formed within it for the missionary service of the church, a shining model of faith and of sincere pursuit of the truth.” St. Newman, who joined the Catholic Church in 1845 after ministering as an Anglican priest, studied at the Pontifical Urbanian College from Nov. 9, 1846, until June 28, 1847, according to the website of the former Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He was ordained a Catholic priest in the college church May 30, 1847. The request to name St. Newman patron of the now-university, the Vatican said, was made by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, grand chancellor of the university and pro-prefect of the congregation’s successor, the Dicastery for Evangelization’s Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches. The Pontifical Urbanian College of the Propagation of the Faith was instituted by Pope Urban VIII in 1627 to train priests for missionary work. It occupied a building in the center of Rome until 1926 when it moved to its current location on the Janiculum Hill overlooking the Vatican. The university enrolls more than 1,300 students from more than 100 countries. Read More Saints The father behind the pope: How Karol Wojtyla Sr. helped shape St. John Paul II Pope Leo praises newly beatified Salesian martyrs killed for their fidelity to Christ Child protection, sainthood causes, World Youth Day on US bishops’ spring meeting agenda Mother Cabrini: First U.S. citizen canonized a saint dedicated life to New York’s Italian immigrants 6 things to know about the Sacred Heart devotion Meet the man whose incredible recovery could lead to military chaplain’s sainthood Copyright © 2025 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
