The intersection of Catholicism and education raised important, yet controversial, questions and prompted many discussions in the nineteenth century. Increased freedoms for Catholics in England opened many educational, financial, and societal opportunities. They could attend prestigious universities and finish degrees without professing Protestant oaths or having religious examinations.
Cardinal Herbert Vaughan––most known for his tenure as Archbishop of Westminster, England, and for founding Saint Joseph’s Missionary Society of Mill Hill––journeyed to and across the Southern United States in 1872. He aimed to document the hindrances that could and did threaten the introduction and widespread dissemination of Catholicism in African American communities throughout the once-Confederate territories.
Before becoming Catholic in 1845, Newman had ascribed to the Evangelical party and then later the High Church party of Anglicanism. It was through certain friendships penetrating his heart so deeply that he became attracted to the truths of the Catholic faith. When Pope Leo XIII made Newman a cardinal in 1879, Newman chose cor ad cor loquitur (Heart speaks unto heart) as his motto. His friends surely spoke to his heart, and his heart spoke to theirs.
Introduced here are three examples of lay women who were deeply influenced by Newman in particular as well as by the greater Oxford Movement. These three women had varying degrees of interaction with Newman personally.
For readers who are interested in using the Pusey House collections for their research, here is an overview of what we have. Only original materials have been digitized, so the digital collection is slightly smaller than the physical one, but every authentic Newman item we have should now be accessible online.
