The Revd Canon Dr Will Lamb, Vicar of the University Church, Oxford, met Pope Leo recently, during a trip to Rome.
One of his predecessors, St John Henry Newman, had served as Vicar of the University Church from 1828-1843. Newman became one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement before his conversion to the Roman Catholic Church. Subsequently ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, he was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII a few years before he died in 1890. Newman was beatified in 2010 and then canonised in 2019. Earlier this month, Newman was declared a Doctor of the Universal Church by Pope Leo XIV.
Will was part of the official Anglican delegation present at the service, which was led by the Archbishop of York. Since a conference last year in Oxford, marking the 200th anniversary of the beginning of Newman’s public ministry, Will has also been involved in discussions with the team of scholars who contributed to the positio – the case for making a saint a Doctor of the Church.
He said: “Newman and the ‘Oxford Movement’ have shaped the life and spirituality of the University Church in many ways. Every Sunday when we celebrate the Eucharist, we use a chalice that Newman gave to St Mary’s when he was the Vicar. No one can stand at the altar or preach from the pulpit from which he preached and be unaware of his legacy.
“In recognising St John Henry Newman as a doctor of the universal church, Pope Leo has made a significant and gracious ecumenical gesture in acknowledging the influence of his writings as an Anglican, which are just as important as his later writings as a Roman Catholic. The presence of the Anglican delegation was acknowledged warmly by His Holiness at the service in St Peter’s Square.
“Following the visit of HM King Charles, I continue to pray for positive ecumenical relations and an ever greater commitment to seek the gift of unity in a world which is so often fractured and estranged.”
The service took place on 1 November, the Feast of All Saints and also the Jubilee Day for Education in the Catholic Church.
Will continued: “It was an extraordinary privilege to meet the Pope. But also, I learned on meeting him, that he had been to Choral Vespers at the University Church. He had been a visitor here a few years before he became Pope.
“We welcome about half a million visitors every year and we have no idea who is coming out of reverence to John Henry Newman or John Wesley or Thomas Cranmer and the Oxford Martyrs. This makes me aware of just how significant the University Church is as a place of pilgrimage for Christian people from all over the world.”
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