Today Pope Francis will declare Blessed John Henry Newman a saint of the Church. Cardinal Newman was a great scholar but also a great pastor. He brought his many and varied gifts to the service of the Church in this country – first to the Church of England, and then to the Roman Catholic Church. Newman is often quoted as saying in connection with the need to consult the people of God: “I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple, but God declared: “Go down again – I dwell among the people.”’
The Newman Canonisation team have issued an email with information on a chain of prayers which they are hoping parishes will take part in on the occasion of the canonisation for Blessed John Henry Newman, with a link to access the Novena daily prayers and posters for the parish, all in a decent downloadable form.