vatican Honorsโฃ Theologian John Henryโค Newman with New โStamp, Recognizingโข “Doctor of the Church” Status
VATICAN CITY – November 7, 2023 – The Vatican Postal โService today issued a 1.35 euro stamp commemorating Saint John Henry Newman, aโข 19th-centuryโข theologian and cardinal recently recognized as aโ Doctor of theโ Church.The release coincides with continued veneration of Newman, canonized by Pope โขFrancis on October 13, 2019, and beatified by Benedict XVI on september 19, 2010.
Newman (1801-1890), described by theโฃ Vatican as “a luminous figure of the modern Church and a tireless witness to โthe sincere search for โtruth,” initially served as an Anglican pastor and keyโ figure in the Oxford movement, seeking to rediscoverโ the โroots โof the Church of England. He converted to Catholicism in 1845 and was ordained a priest in 1847.
Following his ordination, Newman โfounded the Oratory of Saint Philip neri in Birmingham, establishing a center forโ prayer,โ study, and โoutreach. his prolificโข writings are lauded for their “exceptional theological andโฃ spiritual depth,” and are creditedโ withโ considerably contributing “to the dialogโค between faith and reason and to the reflectionโฃ on the role of conscience as a placeโ of encounter between man and God.”
Pope Leo XIII elevated Newman to the rankโฃ of cardinal in 1879. The designation as a Doctor of the Church โacknowledges his profound and influential theological contributions.
The stamp,printed in aโ run โฃof 67,000 specimens arranged in sheets of ten,features a portrait โฃby Raul Berzosa. The cancellation design is theโฃ work of Edgar Owen Jennings. theโ appearance of Newman on a Vatican stamp was, according to reports, an unplanned but welcome addition to โคthe โคpostal service’s offerings.
