News Religion

Prince Charles to attend Newman canonisation in Rome

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

16 Sep, 2019

Prince of Wales to lead UK delegation to see John Henry Newman declared a saint.

The Prince of Wales will attend the canonisation ceremony of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman at St Peter's Square in the Vatican on 13 October, leading the UK delegation to Rome.

Pope Francis will canonise Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), who will become the first British saint since St John Ogilvie in 1976 and the first English non-martyr saint since the Reformation.

Following the canonisation ceremony, Prince Charles will attend a reception at the Collegio Urbano, part of the Pontifical Urban University, where Newman studied to become a Catholic priest.

Ordained into the Church of England in 1825, Newman was the leading spokesperson for the Anglican communion in the first half of the 19th century.

However in 1845 he shocked Victorian England when he was received into the Catholic Church, being created a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of the Catholic Church in England.

Newman's beatification was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI during his September 2010 visit to the UK while his canonisation was approved officially by Pope Francis in February this year.

As the Queen no longer travels abroad, the Prince of Wales is the highest-ranking royal who could attend Newman's canonisation, according to The Tablet, the international Catholic newspaper. The British government has yet to announce who will represent it at the canonisation ceremony.

For travel advice for British pilgrims travelling to the canonisation see the British government website. Wanted in Rome will be publishing a feature article on Newman in the upcoming October edition of the magazine.