The Rev. Benjamin King, Ph.D., Academic Dean and Duncalf-Villavoso Professor of Church History at Seminary of the Southwest, was among the honored guests in Rome recently as the Vatican celebrated St. John Henry Newman being named the 38th Doctor of the Universal Church. Dr. King, a noted Newman scholar, was one of two non-Catholic contributors to the positio, the Vatican document advancing Newman’s cause for this historic declaration.
Last weekend’s events acknowledged Newman’s influence in the Anglican as well as Catholic communions. On Friday, October 31, Dr. King presented at a day-long symposium on Newman held at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where scholars from around the world reflected on Newman’s theological legacy and his enduring contributions to education and ecclesial life.
On Saturday, November 1, Dr. King joined the Anglican delegation attending the Mass in St. Peter’s Square at which Pope Leo XIV formally declared Newman a Doctor of the Church. Prior to the liturgy, the delegation had a papal audience, during which Dr. King was personally introduced to Pope Leo as “the Anglican contributor to the positio.” This recognition underscored Newman’s unique significance as a figure who lived and developed key theological insights within both Anglican and Catholic traditions.
The Anglican delegation—led by the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell, and including the Rt. Rev. Dr. Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford—was welcomed by the Vatican in acknowledgment of the fact that Newman spent nearly half of his life as an Anglican priest, theologian, and preacher before his reception into the Roman Catholic Church. Their inclusion signaled the deep ecumenical resonance of Newman’s life and thought.
Newman’s naming as a Doctor of the Church affirms his enduring role in shaping modern Christian understandings of conscience, formation, and the development of doctrine.
“It is deeply meaningful that the Vatican considers Newman an ecumenical saint,” Dr. King said. “As an Episcopalian, I have been welcomed into the process of naming Newman a Doctor of the Church, and in Rome I was moved by the extent to which Anglicans were included in the celebrations. It is remarkable that Newman, who developed many of his most important theological ideas while an Anglican, is now regarded as a co-patron of Catholic education alongside no less a theologian than Thomas Aquinas.”
The Rt. Rev. Kathryn M. Ryan, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Texas shared, “Dr. King’s scholarship and presence in Rome reflect Southwest’s commitment to theological depth, ecumenical relationship, and faithful engagement with the global church.”
