Lecture by Fairfield President to Commemorate Beatification of John Henry Newman

WORCESTER, Mass. – To commemorate the upcoming beatification of John Henry Newman, Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., president of Fairfield University, will give a lecture titled “Two Cardinals: John Henry Newman, Henry Edward Manning and the Victorian Church” on Monday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library, Smith Hall, at the College of the Holy Cross. The lecture, sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, is free and open to the public.

Newman was an Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism in 1845. He had a great influence on English Catholics and the wider Church. His work contributed to the reform of the Church at Vatican II. His beatification, which will take place in Birmingham, England, on Sept. 19, is the final step before canonization and the candidate can be called blessed and be venerated in the diocese of origin.

Beatification is unlikely for Henry Edward Manning, another great Victorian cardinal, a contemporary and sometime adversary of Newman, said Fr. von Arx.

“It would be a mistake, however, to allow the beauty and attractiveness of Newman’s personality or the uncongeniality of Manning’s, to stand in the way of an effort to understand and evaluate their disagreements over the direction of the Church in their day,” he said. “Saints are not always the best leaders, and powerful leaders who manifest little tolerance for opposition are not always wrong.”

A historian by discipline, Fr. von Arx began his academic career at Georgetown University, where he taught in the History Department from 1982-98, and was its chair from 1991-97. He then moved into administration at Fordham University, serving as dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill from 1998 until his appointment as president of Fairfield University in 2004.

To learn more about this program and other Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture events, visit www.holycross.edu/crec. About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture: Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College's commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.