Overview

Few autobiographies are as moving and eloquent as Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua. John Henry Newman's conversion to Roman Catholicism rocked the Church of England and escalated the spread of anti-Catholicism in Victorian England. This book is Newman's defense of that choice-a rigorous examination of his own religious development, enlivened by touches of satire and sometimes invective. In Apologia Pro Vita Sua Newman outlines his spiritual journey, from his beginnings as a liberal thinker, to his conversion to the Evangelical wing of the Church of England, to his ordination as an Anglican priest, to his gradual move toward Catholic thought, practice and worship in the Church of England, to his leadership in the so-called Oxford Movement and its call to holiness and Catholicity in the Church of England, and finally to his conversion to Catholicism. Besides being one of the best autobiographies ever written (in a class with Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo), it is one of the most personal and intimate works in its field: Newman explains the changes, and the conflicts that gave rise to them, with an intensity and eloquence uniquely his own. While the subject matter is Newman's conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, his story is about life's choices. There is a secular reasons to read Apologia Pro Vita Sua as well: Newman's command of the English language. Newman has an excellent command of rhetoric, logic, and exposition that makes him a stellar example of Victorian belle letters. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Cardinal Newman theologically; whether one can accept his particular conclusions is not important to the enjoyment of this book. It is an honest account of a spiritual journey, written by an articulate man, which should prove inspirational to all people of faith on their spiritual pilgrimage.

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John Henry Newman, (1801-1890) was a Roman Catholic priest and cardinal, a convert from Anglicanism in October 1845. In his early life, he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. Both before and after becoming a Roman Catholic, he wrote influential books, including Via Media, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865-66) and the Grammar of Assent (1870).

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