Church's new Blessed, John Henry Newman - Feast day Sept. 9

(19 September, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman at an open-air Mass on Sunday at Cofton Park in Birmingham, England, moving him a step closer to final sainthood. Sunday’s beatification was the climax of the Pope’s Sept. 16-19 state and pastoral visit to the UK, with stops at Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham.
Newman, a 19th century convert from Anglicanism, was enormously influential in both the Anglican and Catholic Churches. He gave up a brilliant academic career at Oxford University and the pulpit of the university church to convert to Catholicism in 1845, convinced that the truth that he had been searching for was found in the Catholic Church. Shortly after being received into the Catholic Church, Newman moved to Birmingham, founded the Birmingham Oratory in 1848 and died there in 1890.
Since his election more than five years ago, Pope Benedict has presided over several canonization ceremonies, but has always assigned the task of beatification to delegates. His decision to make an exception for Cardinal Newman’s beatification demonstrates his personal admiration for the British intellectual.
Beatification is the penultimate step before final sainthood. Cardinal Newman was cleared for his beatification after the Vatican verified a miracle attributed to his intercession. The healing of 71-year old US Deacon Jack Sullivan from a crippling spinal injury in 2001 through the intercession of Newman was recognised as a miracle by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 July 2009, clearing Newman for Sunday’s Beatification.
During the rite of beatification at Sunday’s Mass at Cofton Park, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham requested Pope Benedict XVI to beatify Cardinal Newman.

Listen:
Most Holy Father, the Archbishop of Birmingham and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales humbly request that the Venerable Servant of God, John Henry Cardinal Newman, priest of the Congregation of the Oratory, be proclaimed Blessed.

After Archbishop Longley's request, a brief biography of Cardinal Newman was read out.
Listen:

Pope Benedict then pronounced the solemn formula of beatification in English, declaring Cardinal Newman Blessed.

Listen:
Acceding to the request of our brother, Bernard Longley Archbishop of Birmingham, of many of our brothers in the episcopate and many a faithful, after consultation with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, by our apostolic authority we declare the Venerable Servant of God, Cardinal John Henry Newman, priest of the Congregation of the Oratory, shall henceforth be invoked as ‘Blessed’ and that his feast shall be celebrated every year on 9 October in the places and according to the norms established by Church law. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!