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| John Henry Cardinal Newman |
1801-Newman’s Birth
21st February: John Henry Newman is born at Old Broad Street, London, to John Newman, a banker, and Jemina Fourdriner, of Huguenot background. He is the eldest of six children.
1808-Newman at Seven
1st May: Enters school at Ealing.
1816-Newman at Fifteen
8th March: Failure of father’s bank.
Under the influence of Rev. Walter Mayers he undergoes his first religious conversion.
14th December: Matriculates at Trinity College, Oxford.
1818-Newman at Seventeen
Scholar at Trinity College. Wins scholarship worth £60 p.a. for nine years.
1820-Newman at Nineteen
Receives his Bachelor of Arts degree. Only achieves third class honours.
1822-Newman at Twenty-one
January: Decides to take orders in the Church of England.
April: Elected a fellow of Oriel. Regards this as a crucial turning point in his life.
1824-Newman at Twenty-three
June: Ordained a deacon in the Church of England, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. Preaches his first sermon at OverWorton near Oxford.
July: Begins pastoral career as curate in parish of St Clement, Oxford.
September: Father dies.
1825-Newman at Twenty-four
March: Made Vice-Principal of St Alban’s hall, Oxford.
May: Ordained priest in the Church of England at Christ Church Cathedral.
Writes his first ‘Essay on Miracles’ for the Encyclopaedia Metropolitania.
1826-Newman at Twenty-five
February: Resigns as curate of St Clements and as Vice- Principal of St Alban’s hall when he is appointed Tutor at Oriel college.
July: Delivers his first University Sermon entitled ‘The Philosophical Temper Enjoined by the Gospel’.
1827-Newman at Twenty-six
Breaks down suddenly while examining in the Schools.
1828-Newman at Twenty-seven
Appointed Vicar of St. Mary’s, the University Church.
1830-Newman at Twenty-nine
Following a dispute over the nature of the tutor’s role with the College authority (Newman held that this role should include the education of the religious dimension of the students) his tutorship comes de facto to an end.
1832-Newman at Thirty-one
Autumn: Departs on tour of the Mediterranean with the Froudes.
1833-Newman at Thirty-two
June: Returns to England. Composes Lead Kindly Night on boat from Palermo to Marseilles.
July: The Oxford Movement begins with the delivery John Keble’s sermon ‘National Apostasy’.
September: Publication of Newman’s first Tracts for the Times (there would eventually be ninety in all; twenty-six by Newman himself).
November: Publishes his first book The Arians of the Fourth Century.
1834-Newman at Thirty-three
March: Publishes the first volume of his Parochial and Plain Sermons.
1835-Newman at Thirty-four
Second volume of Parochial and Plain Sermons published.
1836-Newman at Thirty-five
March: Start of the ‘Library of the Fathers’.
May: Newman’s mother dies.
September: Dedication of the new church built by Newman at Littlemore near Oxford.
Volume Three of the Plain Sermons published.
1837- Newman at Thirty-six
March: Publishes his lectures on The Prophetical Office of the Church reviewed relatively to Romanism and Popular Protestantism.
1838- Newman at Thirty-seven
January: Appointed editor of The British Critic, mouthpiece for the Tractarians.
1841- Newman at Forty
February: Publishes the legendary Tract 90 which claimed that there was no contradiction between Catholic teaching and the 29 Articles of Faith. The work is censured by the Heads of Houses because of its alleged Romanising tendencies.
1842- Newman at Forty-one
Retires to his parish at Littlemore.
1843- Newman at Forty-two
February: Retracts his charges against the Church of Rome.
September: Preaches his last sermon as an Anglican. Resigns his living at St Mary’s.
1844- Newman at Forty-three
Begins Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine.
1845- Newman at Forty-four
October: Resigns Oriel Fellowship.
October 9th: Formally received into the Roman Catholic Church by Father Dominic, the Passionist, at Littlemore.
1846-Newman at Forty-five
Meets with fellow converts at St Mary’s Oscott.
Leaves for Italy to commence training as a priest.
1847- Newman at Forty-six
Studies at the College of Propaganda and then later at Santa Croce.
Writes his first novel Loss and Gain.
May: ordained a priest by Cardinal Fransoni.
1848- Newman at Forty-seven
The Birmingham Oratory is founded by Newman.
November: 2nd edition of Loss and Gain published.
1850- Newman at Forty-nine
Delivers Lectures on Certain Difficulties felt by Anglicans in Submitting to the Catholic Church in London.
October: A Catholic hierarchy is re-established in England. The move is denounced by many as ‘Papal Aggression’.
1851- Newman at Fifty
30th June: Begin his Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England. In the 28th July lecture he speaks against Achilli, who sued him.
30th September: Visits Ireland for the first time.
12th November: Appointed Rector of the proposed Catholic University of Ireland.
1852- Newman at Fifty-One
May 10th–June 7th: Delivers in Dublin first five of his Discourses on the scope and nature of University education.
1854- Newman at Fifty-three
2nd February: Comes to Ireland to get the University started.
4th June: Installed as Rector in St Mary’s Procathedral.
1855-Newman at Fifty-four
1st October: Catholic University of Ireland's Medical School opens.
1856- Newman at Fifty-five
1st May: Newman’s University Church opened in Dublin.
Publishes his second novel Callista: a Tale of the Third Century.
1857- Newman at Fifty-six
3rd April: Announces his intention of resigning the Rectorship of the University.
Publishes Sermons Preached on Various Occasions.
1858- Newman at Fifty-seven
4th November: Departs from Ireland.
12th November: Formally resigns the Rectorship of the Catholic University.
1859- Newman at Fifty-eight
January: “The Benedictine Centuries” in Atlantis are published.
2nd May: Oratory School opened in Egbaston.
July: Publishes his article ‘On consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine’ which a Catholic Bishop delates to Rome for heresy. After a series of disappointments Newman withdrew to live a quiet life and ceases to publish.
1864- Newman at Sixty-three
January: Kingsley attacks Newman in Macmillan’s Magazine.
21st April–2nd June: In response to Kingsley’s attack, Newman writes a history of his religious opinions in seven weekly parts entitled Apologia pro Vita Sua. It was extremely well received. Today it is published as a world classic in Penguin Books.
1865-Newman at Sixty-four
May-June: The poem 'The Dream of Gerontius' is published in The Month.
July: Begins to play the violin again.
1866- Newman at Sixty-five
January: Publishes A Letter to rev. E B Pusey, DD, on his recent Eirenicon.
August: At Glion in Switzerland he discovers the key to his work The Grammar. He claimed: “You are wrong in beginning with certitude, certitude is only a kind of assent, you should begin with contrasting assent and inference.”
1868- Newman at Sixty-seven
Verses on Various Occasions published.
1870- Newman at Sixty-nine
15th March: Publishes A Grammar of Assent his chief work on human rationality and the nature of belief.
October: Essays on Miracles published.
1871- Newman at Seventy
October: Begins to republish his Anglican works starting with Essays Critical and Historical in two volumes.
1873-Newman at Seventy-two
This year he preaches at two funeral masses for his friends Henry Wilberforce and Hope Scott.
The Idea of a University published in two parts.
1875-Newman at Seventy-four
14th January: A Letter to the Duke of Norfolk published as a response to Gladstone’s The Vatican Decrees and their Bearing on Civil Allegiance written the previous year.
24th May: His closest friend and companion, Ambrose St John, dies.
December: Invited to become first Honorary Fellow of Trinity College Oxford.
1878-Newman at Seventy-seven
26th–28th February: He visits Oxford for the first time since 1846.
1879-Newman at Seventy-eight
March: Gets official word that he is to be granted the Cardinalate.
12th May: Delivers his Biglieto Speech in Rome.
15th May: He receives the Cardinal’s Hat at a public consistory.
1880- Newman at Seventy-nine
May: Attends receptions and dinners in his honour in London and Oxford.
1882- Newman at Eighty-one
Newman’s edited Notes of Visit to the Russian Church published.
1884-Newman at Eighty-three
February: His article “On the Inspiration of Scripture” is published in Nineteenth Century.
1885- Newman at Eighty-four
October: His article “On Development of Religious Error” published in Contemporary Review.
1888- Newman at Eighty-seven
He preaches his last sermon. His physical powers are greatly limited.
1889- Newman at Eighty-eight
November: Mediates a dispute at Cadbury’s Chocolate factory.
28th December: Says mass for the last time.
1890- Newman at Eighty-nine
23rd July: Gives prizes in Oratory School and attends a Latin play.
11th August: Dies of pneumonia.
19th August: Buried at Oratorian cemetery at Rednal near Birmingham.
His passing from this life, in his own words, meant “ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem”: from shadows and images into the truth.
www.ucd.ie/jhnewman