Vigil for reception for remains of Cardinal Newman

By Peter Jennings

A Vigil of Reception for the remains of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was held in the Upper Cloister Hall at the Birmingham Oratory, in Edgbaston, on Friday 31 October and on Saturday 1 November, writes Peter Jennings.

When visitors entered the Cloister Hall, situated on Birmingham's Hagley Road, they were entering a part of the Oratory buildings that Cardinal Newman himself knew. This large hall was constructed as part of the provision made by the Fathers of the Oratory for their School, which Father John Henry Newman opened in May 1859.

Visitors had the opportunity to view some of the physical remains of the best known English churchman of the 19th century.

Some short while before his death on Monday 11 August 1890, Cardinal Newman had expressed the wish that he might return to the dust from which he had been formed, and that this should happen in his grave at the Oratory House, Rednal, on the outskirts of Birmingham.

When Cardinal Newman's grave was opened, at the request of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, on Thursday 2 October 2008, it was discovered that the great English Cardinal's body had returned to its native clay and that only the barest remains survive.

The most important remains on show were some locks of Cardinal Newman's hair. Some of these could be seen in a small reliquary contained within the casket that stood in the middle of the collection.

A second important physical relic was a piece of linen thought to be stained with Cardinal Newman's blood, that had until recently been in the safe-keeping of the Sisters of the Spiritual Family of The Work, who look after the College at Littlemore, near Oxford, where John Henry Newman became a Catholic on 9 October 1845.

Also in the casket could be seen a small crucifix made of wood and edged with silver, which was retrieved from the grave and, in a small silver-topped container, some soil from the area where the Cardinal's coffin had been laid.

In the left-hand display cabinet visitors could see one of the handles from the Cardinal's coffin, retrieved from the ground when his grave was opened. The other three handles are still undergoing conservation.

The most important remains of the coffin, placed in the same cabinet, were the brass nameplate and the ornate brass Cardinal's hat with accompanying tassels and cross. It is thought that these items, along with the handles, were made by John Hardman and Company, the famous Birmingham firm of ecclesiastical suppliers.

Also on display in the right-hand cabinet was a rosary that belonged to Cardinal Newman, one of his breviaries, a red biretta and a zuchetta (skull-cap) from the collection of the Cardinal's robes preserved in the Oratory House at Edgbaston in 1852. Also displayed were the Cardinal's letters to Gerard Manley Hopkins of 1866 when the young poet was considering becoming a Catholic.

Visitors could also view Cardinal Newman's crozier and two of his cassocks - one made of very fine red silk, the other much simpler with red piping.

After attending the Vigil of Reception on Friday 31 October, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: “'The Upper Cloister Hall of the Birmingham Oratory has been transformed into a place of quiet recollection and wonder. The remains of Cardinal Newman, and other objects from his life, form the focus of the attention as we welcome back to the Oratory its founder and inspiration.”

Bishop William Kenney, CP, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, celebrated a Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday evening and then led the prayer for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman in the Upper Cloister Hall.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, celebrated a Votive Mass of Our Blessed Lady on Saturday at 8.am at the Newman Memorial Church in Edgbaston, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

In his sermon Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor spoke movingly about Cardinal Newman’s great devotion to the Mother of God.

At 11.00 am Bishop Philip Pargeter, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, celebrated a Votive Mass of St Philip Neri, Founder of the Oratory. Cardinal Newman brought the Oratory of St Philip Neri to Maryvale during February 1848. Four years later, Newman and his community moved into the Oratory House at Edgbaston.

Visit/return to the Cause of Cardinal Newman page

Pictures:

The Casket Reliquary containing locks of Cardinal Newman's hair pictured in the Upper Cloister Hall at the Birmingham Oratory.
(c) Peter Jennings

The small crucifix made of wood and with silver edging that was retrieved from the grave of Cardinal Newman, when it was opened at the request of the Vatican, on October 2 2008.
(c) Peter Jennings