The Newman Society: Oxford University Catholic Society (est. 1878; current form 2012) is

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

's oldest

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

organization. It is a student society named as a tribute to Cardinal Newman, who agreed to lend his name to a group formed seventeen years before the English hierarchy formally permitted Catholics to attend the university. The society acquired its current form and title following the merger in 2012 of the pre-existing Newman Society and Oxford University's Catholic Society (est. 1990). It exists, according to its constitution, to 'work in conjunction with the

Chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to support and encourage Catholic students in their Christian vocation by promoting their personal, intellectual and spiritual development, social interaction, and apostolic witness within the broader context of their university experience', and has served as the model for Catholic student societies throughout the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

History

Foundation: 1878–1896

Founded as the Catholic Club in 1878, it was not until 1888, the club was renamed as Newman Society. At the time, the renaming of the society was not uncontroversial;

Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...

, whose son Dick was amongst those involved in the changing of the name, counselled him to be careful.

Owen Chadwick William Owen Chadwick (20 May 1916 – 17 July 2015) was a British Anglican priest, academic, rugby international,efelt it to be awkward. On one side was the pride of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Newman as one of its eminent graduates; and of Oriel too, connected as it was ‘with the period of his fame’. But on the other side Newman still had enemies in Oxford and they no small men –

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...

‘probably’ his worst, but perhaps Jowett also, and then several secular minds. cton’sadvice to Dick on this matter was ‘Do nothing too conspicuously.’ Meetings of the society originally took place at the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Aloysius Gonzaga or in members' rooms. Speakers were frequently undergraduates, as records show, and topics were wide-ranging. Quoting from surviving minute books, Walter Drumm notes:

At the twenty-fourth meeting, on 2 November 1890, Mr. Parry (
University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
) read a paper on ‘Lake Dwellings in Switzerland’. ‘A desultory discussion followed, most of the speakers professing ignorance of the subject’. Mr. Urquhart read a paper on ‘Christian Socialists in France’ and Lord Westmeath on ‘ De Quincy and Opium Eating’.
Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...
was probably the best known of the early members of the Newman; on 11 June 1893, when he was still an undergraduate at Balliol, he spoke on ‘The Church and the Republic’. In the following year, the Society fielded a football XI, although the title ‘Newman Football Team’ was not approved by all members.

When the Catholic Chaplaincy to the university was established in 1896 the society found a natural home there, often meeting in the Chaplain's rooms. The same year also saw the society's hundredth meeting, which took the form – on 18 June 1896 – of "a dinner at the Clarendon Hotel. Bishop Ilsley of Birmingham, the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

and thirty-two others, which was practically the whole membership, consumed at 10/- per head:

lobster bisque Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth ( coulis) of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, langoustine, crab, shrimp or crayfish. Alongside chowder, bisque is one of the most ...

, sole dauphinoise,

poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

(method of cooking unstated), gateaux and

fromage ''Fromage'' is an annual Canadian one-hour special produced by the MuchMusic cable channel. ''Fromage'' paid "tribute" to music videos considered the worst or cheesiest of the year by MuchMusic staff. History The special was created in 1988 ...

."Drumm 1991, p. 48. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported the dinner, observing that "the real point of the festivity ... was not its apparent occasion. The main topic was the final settlement ... of the long-contested question of the recognition by the Roman Church of the education of Catholics ... at Oxford and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Twentieth century: pre-1960s

The minutes for the period 1898 to 1907 have been lost; "the records of the Newman Society are very sparse until the 1940s, from which period society cards have survived." However, as Drumm has emphasized, what records do remain all point to the fact of the Newman's being central to Catholic life in Oxford:

...we can see from the earliest records that the newly arrived undergraduate at the turn of the
0th 0th or zeroth may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * 0th or zeroth, an ordinal for the number zero * 0th dimension, a topological space * 0th element, of a data structure in computer science * Zeroth (software), deep learning softw ...
century would have been welcomed not only by his chaplain ... but by his fellows who met at the Newman.

By 1926, when

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a high reputation as a classicist, Knox wa ...

became chaplain to Oxford, the society's speakers were no longer predominantly drawn from the ranks of students. Meeting in the long room on the first floor of the Old Palace – then known as the Newman Room – the society frequently attracted important figures. Such was the Newman's importance that it even laid claim to some of the Old Palace's furniture; Knox records that the Newman Room's "larger

sofa A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with up ...

... was presented to the Society by Mgr Barnes, who assured me that it was the sofa on which his father proposed marriage to his mother". Meetings during Knox's period as chaplain were generally held on Sunday evenings. In a description of a typical Sunday, Knox wrote:

At five or ten minutes to seven the Newman speaker, duly washed, must be taken off to whatever
club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
the Committee is dining at. He and the Committee must be lugged back to the Old Palace about 8.10 and given port in the chaplain's room. The chaplain will keep a look-out to see when the members have mostly arrived (he may even send an S.O.S. to Campion to ask if a few people will turn up and conceal the sparsity of attendance); then he will take the Committee down to the Newman Room ... and come to roost in a comfortable chair if he can still find one. During the five-minute interval after the paper, the chaplain invites one or two of the more distinguished people present ... to come up after the meeting. During question-time he tries to keep things going. ...The visitors probably retire at eleven or soon after and the chaplain (unless he has the speaker to entertain) can now enjoy his own company.

When Knox finally retired from the role of chaplain in 1939, his impact on the Newman Society and Catholic life in Oxford generally had been such that his farewell included "a dinner at the Randolph Hotel at which the Newman Society presented him with an early folio of the

Douay Bible Douay is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abel Douay (1809–1870), French general * Félix Douay (1816–1879), French general and brother of Abel Douay See also * Douay–Rheims Bible, an English translation of the Bible, c. ...

, a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

mug, a

water-colour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

of the Old Palace, and £50." His involvement with the society was not over, however. Women had been admitted to Oxford in 1920, and became members of the Newman Society and of the congregation at the Old Palace in 1941, having previously been cared for by a separate chaplaincy. Knox – who had been called on to return to Oxford but was unenthusiastic –- proposed the merger to the Archbishop of Birmingham as a solution to the unexpected vacancy he was being asked to fill; as a confident

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

would later put it, Knox "was the author of the temporary amalgamation, which persists to this day." In 1945 the Newman was sufficiently established to merit two mentions in Waugh's "Oxford novel", ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''. The first reference comes in the course of Lady Marchmain's comments to Charles Ryder about her son, Sebastian: The society participated in the refurbishing of the Chaplaincy which followed the Second World War; with Newman funds purchase was made of 'a new wireless set and an electrically operated gramophone'. Socially, the Newman continued to reflect the character of Catholicism among Oxford students;

Baroness Williams of Crosby Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...

has recorded that while she "went occasionally to the Newman Society", she "was never part of the exclusive Catholic groups, usually young men and women from distinguished

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

families." Francis Muir has written of being introduced (by then-chaplain Mgr Valentine Elwes) to Elizabeth Jennings at a "Newman Society bun-fight" during this period. The academic year 1956-7 saw the society hosting a

disputation In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations (in Latin: ''disputationes'', singular: ''disputatio'') offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences. Fixed ru ...

conducted by Oxford's Dominicans, an event repeated to much acclaim in Hilary 2014, with a further disputation scheduled for Michaelmas of the same year. In 1959 the society held a dinner at which the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

was represented, and which was attended by Archbishop of Westminster

William Godfrey William Godfrey (1889–1963) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster and ''de facto'' primate of England and Wales from 1956 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. Bio ...

, who had become a cardinal in the previous year. The latter took the opportunity to announce the resignation of Mgr Elwes.

Twentieth century: 1960–1990

Following the reforms of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

in the 1960s, the 1970s proved a turbulent decade in the life of the Church.

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of ...

, who loomed large in the theological battles of the period, was one of several high-profile speakers at the Newman whose presence served to underline the era's changes. The situation at the Chaplaincy, then under the authority of

Crispian Hollis Roger Francis Crispian Hollis (born 17 November 1936, in Bristol) is the Bishop Emeritus of Portsmouth for the Roman Catholic Church. Early life Crispian Hollis' parents were Christopher Hollis (1902–1977), the author and parliamentarian, an ...

, was bleak, as the system of catechetical Sunday sermons – established in the time of Ronald Knox for the purpose of promoting students' doctrinal and spiritual formation – collapsed. In the midst of widespread ignorance, doctrinal confusion, and moral rebellion, the Newman staked out its position in 1973, hosting an address by

Elizabeth Anscombe Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (; 18 March 1919 – 5 January 2001), usually cited as G. E. M. Anscombe or Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British analytic philosopher. She wrote on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, ...

titled "

Contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

Sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

and

Natural Law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...

" – a philosophical defence of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

's encyclical on artificial birth control (''

Humanae Vitae ''Humanae vitae'' (Latin: ''Of Human Life'') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching o ...

''). Yet the society was not so inflexible as to refuse to accommodate some new social realities; a 1972 termcard expressed the hope "that activists, gnomes, ravers and potential saints will be inspired by this ... term's programme." By 1982 fashions had changed again, so that the year of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's apostolic voyage to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

also saw the Newman organizing a "

Boater __NOTOC__ A boater (also straw boater, basher, skimmer, The English Panama, cady, katie, canotier, somer, sennit hat, or in Japan, can-can hat, suruken) is a semi-formal summer hat for men, which was popularised in the late 19th century and e ...

s and

Bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

" event – a prize being offered for the "best Brideshead dress". The Pope's visit was itself advertised by one enterprising president as a Newman Society event: Oxonians were informed that "His Holiness the Pope will address Newman Society members and others in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

." The 1980s were a difficult period for Oxford's student Catholics, as the Newman Society lost a sense of its role, held since the war, as institutional representative of the university's young Catholics, leading to the unsatisfactory situation which prevailed until the 2012 merger, when the heritage of the Newman combined with the vibrancy of the CathSoc. The Newman had ceased to be the university's sole Catholic society, following the creation by the university chaplains and Chaplaincy community of the Oxford University Catholic Society in 1990 to take up the slack left by the increasingly narrow focus of the Newman. The Newman continued to play a significant role in Catholic life in Oxford: in 1996, the society organized a Sarum Rite Mass for the feast of the

Translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

St Frideswide Frithuswith, commonly Frideswide (c. 65019 October 727; ang, Friðuswīþ), was an English princess and abbess. She is credited as the foundress of a monastery later incorporated into Christ Church, Oxford. She was the daughter of a sub-ki ...

, patron saint of Oxford. Another such Mass was organized by members of the Newman in 1997, for the feast of Candlemas. Videos of this latter Mass can be viewed on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. The society marked the end of the 20th century with a number of events, culminating in a visit by

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 ...

, then Archbishop of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and not yet a cardinal.

Twenty-first century: Benedict XVI

Following the election of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

, mentions of the Newman Society and its events appeared in the Catholic and secular press on a number of occasions. During the Regensburg affair of 2006, the society's voice was heard with the publication of a letter in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' from the then-President:

I understand that the Pope's words prompted some
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
to protest by burning an effigy of the Pontiff. How extraordinary that this old English custom should appear there so many years after the
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
fell. I assumed the eccentrics in Lewes, East Sussex, were practically peerless in the practice of pope-burning. ... rvellous that, even if they failed to read the context of the Pope's remarks, these people still managed to wheel out a centuries-old English tradition.

In November 2007, following Pope Benedict's

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...

'' Summorum Pontificum'', the Society organized a High Mass as in the

1962 Roman Missal The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

to mark the centenary of co-founder

Hartwell de la Garde Grissell Hartwell de la Garde Grissell (1839–1907) was a papal chamberlain and the founder of the Oxford University Newman Society. Education Grissell was born in 1839 as the son of Thomas Grissell, a prosperous public works contractor. He was educa ...

's death. In 2009 the society was addressed by Cardinal Pell, archbishop of Sydney, on the subject of religious and secular

intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...

, and their implications for contemporary Christian witness. Giving the inaugural

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

Lecture in the university's

Divinity School A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, the Cardinal spoke of the

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

tendencies of modern

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, and the dangers for the Church posed by the rise of "

anti-discrimination legislation This is a list of anti-discrimination acts (often called discrimination acts or anti-discrimination laws), which are laws designed to prevent discrimination. Australia *Anti-discrimination laws in Australia ** Age Discrimination Act 2004 **Anti ...

" and " human rights tribunals". He concluded his address with a call to arms for contemporary believers:

Christians have to recover their genius for showing that there are better ways to live and to build a good society; ways which respect freedom, empower individuals, and transform communities. They also have to recover their self-confidence and courage. The secular and religious intolerance of our day needs to be confronted regularly and publicly. Believers need to call the bluff of what is, even in most parts of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, a small minority with disproportionate influence in the
media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
. This is one of the crucial tasks for Christians in the twenty-first century.

During his week-long visit to the Newman Society the Cardinal presided at a Solemn Latin Mass organized by the society in intercession for Newman's

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

, achieved, of course, during Benedict XVI's momentous visit to Britain in 2010, and Solemn

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

in the 1962 form. In October 2012 the university's two Catholic societies merged, as a result of the need to unite the distinguished heritage of the Newman Society with the Catholic Society, which was, in co-operation with the Chaplains, supporting the great majority of Catholic students, thus creating The Newman Society: The Oxford University Catholic Society and ending the irony of there being two Catholic societies. The merged Society resolved to continue the St Thomas More Lecture, though it has evolved into a more broadly-based event than it had been previously. The newly merged society made its debut on the broader Catholic youth scene when it acted as autumn host of th
Catholic Societies of the Southern Universities
in November 2012.

The contemporary Newman Society

Ethos

Today, the Society is made up of a diverse range of Oxford's student Catholics, from all backgrounds and representing a wide range of traditions with the Church. Thus, while many are involved with contemporary worship styles, such as Taizé and 'Praise and Worship' events, support for the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

is ongoing, as part of a broadly-based spirituality. Saint John Henry Newman remains very much the Society's patron, with a June 2014 walking pilgrimage to the site of his conversion, at Littlemore on the outskirts of Oxford, attracting an enthusiastic turnout. While the Society is based at the University Catholic Chaplaincy, it has links with central Oxford's other Catholic churches: Blackfriars, St Benet's, and the Oratory. The presence of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in the Chaplaincy has added an additional dimension to the ethos of the Society. The Society is strongly committed to charitable work, with many members participating in the activities of the

Society of St Vincent de Paul The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

, including an early morning soup run, while

CAFOD The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is an international development charity and the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It aims to tackle poverty globally. Through local Catholic Church and secular pa ...

and

Aid to the Church in Need In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

are also supported.

Term structure

During full term there is a speaker every Thursday at 8pm in the Blue Room of The Old Palace, the historic building of the University Catholic Chaplaincy. Talks are preceded by a shared meal, cooked by members of the committee, at 7pm and followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Compline. There are also special events such as the Catholic Freshers' Fair at the start of Michaelmas, a Christmas party, and visits to historical sites, such as the priest holes of

Mapledurham House Mapledurham House is an Elizabethan stately home located in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, first listed on 24 October 1951. History and architecture The manor of Mapledurha ...

. The Society hosts a popular Céilidh in Michaelmas and Hilary, and a Garden Party in the grounds of

Campion Hall Campion Hall is one of the five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. It is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is located on Brewer S ...

in Trinity. The Society has revived the practice of organizing sporting events. There are annual Society Vs Alumni and Oxford Vs Cambridge football matches, while a rugby team is also in the process of formation, and trains on Saturday mornings during Full Term.

Committee

The Society is led by a committee, composed of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity, Outreach and Social Officers, and the St. Thomas More Lecture Secretary. The committee consists of both undergraduates and graduates, and reflects a mixture of home and international students, from a variety of colleges. Elections are typically at the end of Michaelmas, which also sees a very popular black-tie President's Dinner, again cooked by the committee. The President for 2023 is George W. Morris (St Benet's Hall), and the Senior Member is Fr Nicholas Austin SJ, Master of Campion Hall. Past presidents have included people who have gone on to be MP's, Bishops, Priests and Abbots as well as a variety of other professions.

Image

The Society's motto is the phrase first used by St Augustine of Hippo (in the

Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and the ...

controversy), and subsequently adopted by Cardinal Newman: "Securus judicat orbis terrarum" ("the world's verdict is secure"). The Society tie features stripes of papal

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

cardinal red Cardinal is a vivid red, which may get its name from the cassocks worn by Catholic cardinals (although the color worn by cardinals is scarlet). The cardinal bird also takes its name from the cardinal bishops. The first recorded use of ''ca ...

, and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

; it can be bought at any Society event. There are also Society hoodies and white mugs available for sale, which can often be seen around the Chaplaincy.

Notable speakers

Previous generations

The society has been addressed by prominent and influential Catholics – as well as non-Catholics of interest to a Catholic audience – throughout its history. Jesuit

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Gerard Manley Hopkins was a founding member, and in the Newman's early years both he and author

Robert Hugh Benson Robert Hugh Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 – 19 October 1914) was an English Catholic priest and writer. First an Anglican priest, he was received into the Catholic Church in 1903 and ordained therein the next year. He ...

– also a member – gave papers.

Maurice Baring Maurice Baring (27 April 1874 – 14 December 1945) was an English man of letters, known as a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator and essayist, and also as a travel writer and war correspondent, with particular knowledge of Russia. During Wo ...

's ''Punch and Judy'' was written for the occasion of his addressing the society, and it was at a meeting of the Newman that

Christopher Dawson Christopher Henry Dawson (12 October 188925 May 1970) was a British independent scholar, who wrote many books on cultural history and Christendom. Dawson has been called "the greatest English-speaking Catholic historian of the twentieth century ...

heard Newman biographer Wilfrid Ward speak. A biographer has argued that the experience was an influence in Dawson's conversion.

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

and G. K. Chesterton all spoke to the Newman; it was while attending a talk by Chesterton that Waugh first met

Harold Acton Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in C ...

, to whom he would later dedicate ''Decline and Fall''. The 17th Duke of Norfolk would later in life speak of his "vivid recollections of meeting G. K. Chesterton when I ... attended some of his lectures to the Newman Society, which I will never forget." When Waugh himself addressed members in 1956, it was with an apocalyptic tone: "Our whole literary world is sinking into black disaster. ...I am sure that those who live for the next thirty years will see the art of literature dying."Patey 1998, p. 320-1. Other distinguished speakers who addressed the society in the course of the 20th century include Baron

Friedrich von Hügel Friedrich von Hügel (born ''Friedrich Maria Aloys Franz Karl Freiherr von Hügel'', usually known as ''Baron von Hügel''; 5 May 1852 – 27 January 1925) was an influential Austrian Catholic layman, religious writer, and Christian apologist. Al ...

, Fr Ronald Knox, Fr Martin d'Arcy, Sir Alec Guinness, Arthur Michael Ramsey,

The Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis, , (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher, jurist and scholar specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is the Biolchini Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Notre Dame Law School and a ...

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...

Immanuel Jakobovits Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 192131 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fi ...

, Viscount Monckton,

Maurice Wiles Maurice Frank Wiles, FBA (17 October 1923 – 3 June 2005) was an Anglican priest and academic. He was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford for 21 years, from 1970 to 1991. Life and academic career Wiles was educated at the ...

Terry Eagleton Terence Francis Eagleton (born 22 February 1943) is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University. Eagleton has published over forty books, ...

William Rees-Mogg William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (14 July 192829 December 2012) was a British newspaper journalist who was Editor of ''The Times'' from 1967 to 1981. In the late 1970s, he served as High Sheriff of Somerset, and in the 1980s was Chairman of t ...

Hans Adolf Krebs Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, FRS (, ; 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981) was a German-born British biologist, physician and biochemist. He was a pioneer scientist in the study of cellular respiration, a biochemical process in living cells that ex ...

, Basil Mitchell, Dorothy Hodgkin,

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh (17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was an English journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

Richard Southern Sir Richard William Southern (8 February 1912 – 6 February 2001), who published under the name R. W. Southern, was a noted English medieval historian based at the University of Oxford. Biography Southern was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne o ...

F. R. Leavis Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an English literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York. Leavis ra ...

Ninian Smart Roderick Ninian Smart (6 May 1927 – 29 January 2001) was a Scottish writer and university educator. He was a pioneer in the field of secular religious studies. In 1967 he established the first department of religious studies in the United Ki ...

, Dan Berrigan,

Herbert McCabe Herbert John Ignatius McCabe (2 August 192628 June 2001) was a Dominican priest, theologian and philosopher. Life Herbert McCabe was born in Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. He studied chemistry at Manchester University, bu ...

and

Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish h ...

Twenty-first century

Recent terms' speakers of note have included

Piers Paul Read Piers Paul Read FRSL (born 7 March 1941) is a British novelist, historian and biographer. He was first noted in 1974 for a book of reportage, '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', later adapted as a feature film and a documentary. Read ...

on the reality of Hell; Fr Timothy Finigan on '

'; Fr Thomas Weinandy on the

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

; Fr John Saward on the character of Heaven, and, separately, on the

'' Summorum Pontificum''; Fr Aidan Nichols on the centenary of Pope Pius X's condemnation of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

; Professor Geza Vermes (in debate with Dom

Henry Wansbrough Henry Wansbrough (born Joseph Wansbrough, 1934) is an English biblical scholar, Roman Catholic priest, and monk of Ampleforth Abbey. From 1990 to 2004, he served as Master of St Benet's Hall, Oxford. Biography Born as Joseph Wansbrough on 9 Oc ...

) on the historicity of the Gospels; Ann Widdecombe MP on being a Catholic politician; Sir Anthony Kenny on the Oxford Movement; and

on the relationship between God and

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

. During the 2013–4 academic year speakers have ranged from Walter Hooper, secretary to

CS Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

, to Archbishop

Eamon Martin Eamon Martin KC*HS (born 30 October 1961) is a prelate of the Catholic Church from Northern Ireland who has been Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland since 2014. Early life and education Martin was born in Derry, Northern Irel ...

of Armagh, while the highlights of Trinity 2014 were an inspirational talk, entitled ''The Menace of the State shall find be Unafraid'', on the crucial role played by the Church in the disintegration of

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in 1980s

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and the powerful personal testimony of Fr David Branford, ''From Anglican Vicar to Catholic Priest''. The 2013 St Thomas More Lecture was delivered by Sr Helen Prejean on her work with condemned criminals in the United States, while 2014 saw a change of focus as Oxford's own Prof.

Henry Mayr-Harting Henry Maria Robert Egmont Mayr-Harting (born 6 April 1936) is a British medieval ecclesiastical historian. From 1997 to 2003, he was Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford and a lay canon of Christ Church, Oxford. ...

spoke on ''Confession: Yesterday and Today''. Since the merger, speaker topics have evolved to reflect the heritage of both groups, with the committee seeking to balance the diverse interests of Oxford's young Catholics. The conviviality of Mgr Knox's days is combined with a renewed optimism and confidence when the Society meets each Thursday in term-time, for an informal supper at 7pm and a talk at 8pm, followed by prayer, refreshments and conversation. Since the Coronavirus Pandemic the Society has hosted notable speakers such as

, Sally Axworthy,

Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council f ...

Alexander Stafford Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (born 19 July 1987) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rother Valley since the 2019 general election. He is the first Conservative to be elected for the seat. He has been the ...

Mike Kane Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (born 9 January 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wythenshawe and Sale East since February 2014. He won the seat in the 2014 by-election, which was held follo ...

George Weigel George Weigel (born 1951) is a Catholic neoconservative American author, political analyst, and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the ...

and Cardinal Pell.

Notes

References

*Chadwick, Owen (1998). ''Acton and History'', Cambridge University Press. *Drumm, W. (1991). ''The Old Palace: A History of the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy'', Veritas Publications. *Newby, P. (1999). ''Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy Annual Review'', Family Publications. *Patey, D. (1998). ''The Life of

: A Critical Biography'', Blackwell Publishing. *Scott, C. (1984). ''A Historian and his World: A Life of Christopher Dawson'', Sheed & Ward. *Waugh, Evelyn (1959). ''

: A Biography'', Cassell. *Williams, S. (2003). ''God and Caesar'', Continuum.

External links

The Newman Society
- Official Website
The Newman Society: The Oxford University Catholic Society
- Official Facebook page
Oxford University Newman Society
– Archived website of Society pre-2012 merger
Communigate: Newman Society
– Bodleian Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman Society 1878 establishments in England Catholic Church in England

Newman Society The Newman Society: Oxford University Catholic Society (est. 1878; current form 2012) is Oxford University's oldest Roman Catholic organization. It is a student society named as a tribute to Cardinal Newman, who agreed to lend his name to a ...

Student organizations established in 1878 Christian student societies in the United Kingdom Catholic youth organizations