Mercy College of Health Sciences proudly joins the global Catholic community in celebrating the announcement from the Holy See that St. John Henry Newman will be declared a Doctor of the Church. Pope Leo XIV will confer this prestigious title during a special Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on November 1, 2025, marking the culmination of the Jubilee of the World of Education 2025.
St. John Henry Newman, a nineteenth-century English theologian, will become only the thirty-eighth saint to receive this honor, and the second Englishman after St. Bede the Venerable. The title “Doctor of the Church” is reserved for saints whose theological writings and teachings have profoundly shaped the Church’s doctrine and spiritual life.
Mercy College is especially honored to recognize the contributions of Dr. Bud Marr, Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who played a pivotal role in the petition process. Since the spring of 2023, the National Institute for Newman Studies has worked with the Bishops of England and Wales, the formal petitioners for Newman’s cause to be declared a Doctor of the Church. Dr. Marr wrote one of the chapters that was included in the petition.
Dr. Marr shared, “It was a distinct honor to contribute to the petition for Newman’s cause. St. John Henry Newman stands as one of the most important thinkers of the modern age, and his writings about education and faith are only going to grow in influence in our increasingly globalized world. I look forward to joining all of the Church, including Pope Leo XIV, in celebrating this historic event.”
Dr. Marr has been invited to attend the Vatican celebration and the November 1 Mass, where Pope Leo XIV will officially proclaim Newman as Doctor Ecclesiae. This momentous occasion coincides with the closing of the World Education Jubilee, themed “Constellations of Hope,” which brings together educators and students from around the globe.
