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Pope Leo XIV Honors Catholic Roots of Oxford's Oriel College
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In Short: On the 700th anniversary of Oriel College's royal charter, Pope Leo XIV celebrated its Catholic origins and praised its most famous student, St. John Henry Newman.
During a visit to the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV honored the Catholic heritage of Oriel College, a prestigious institution at the University of Oxford," said the Pope, according to Aleteia. The college, founded in 1324, was officially approved by King Edward II in 1326. Pope Leo XIV highlighted the contributions of St. John Henry Newman, a 19th-century British intellectual, as a "shining example of a scholar who not only showed the inseparability of faith and reason in his works but even more admirably in his life.
The Pope encouraged the current students to form a "daily community of faith and scholarship," drawing attention to Newman's legacy. Newman, who resigned his fellowship at Oriel College in 1845 and was received into the Catholic Church the same year, was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1847. His conversion, despite losing many friends and being rejected by his family, brought him a deep sense of peace, as he wrote in his memoirs.
Oriel College, originally named the College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, later became known as Oriel after receiving a property called "La Orielle." The college's representatives, accompanied by Cardinal Wim Eijk, the archbishop of Utrecht, participated in a papal audience at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. During the meeting, Lord Neil Mendoza, the provost of the college, presented a gift to Pope Leo XIV: an original 17th-century engraving of Oriel College from the first illustrated book of Oxford, published in 1675.
Pope Leo XIV emphasized the "long and illustrious history" of Oriel College and its "firm Christian identity." He also noted that the college's anniversary was an opportunity to celebrate its Catholic origins, as the institution was originally founded as the College of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Pope pointed to Newman, whom he named a doctor of the Church and co-patron of the Church's education last fall, as a model of faith and scholarship.
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- On the 700th anniversary of the Oxford institution's royal charter, the Holy Father praised its most famous student -- St.
- While addressing the Oxford institution’s leaders at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, the Pontiff paid tribute to its most famous student, St.
- The College’s representatives’ participation in the papal audience was part of a pilgrimage to Rome which the college organized for the occasion.
- In a brief greeting addressed to the English professors and students, the Holy Father praised the “long and illustrious history” of Oriel College.
- “I urge you, then, to entrust yourselves and the future of the College to the unfading Light of the world, so that you too, like Our Lady, may reflect his glory to the world,” Pope Leo said.