Sacred Heart Hall’s Heritage Room has a new display dedicated to Newman’s namesake, St. John Henry Newman.
In preparation for St. Newman being named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 1, Newman’s Archivist Monica Franz was tasked with creating a display in dedication to him.
“Since we’re the only U.S. college that’s named after him, we wanted to be prepared,” Franz said.
The Heritage Room periodically displays new themes, usually in honor of an important piece of the university’s history.
At the heart of the display
Centered in the display is a drawing of St. Newman, done by a past Newman student.
“I wanted him to be the center, so he’s in the center square,” Franz said.
On the same shelf is a cast of St. Newman’s hand, created by Babs Miller. Miller was hired by the university to make a sculpture of him, and it stands today outside the front doors of Sacred Heart Hall. It’s one of only three full-sized statues of St. Newman in the world.
St. Newman’s writings
On the top left and middle shelves of the display are just a few of the vast collection of St. Newman’s own works.
“That’s one of the reasons why he was nominated, because of his writings and teachings and how important it was to the Catholic Church,” Franz said.
On campus, the Dugan Library is home to the “Saint Newman Collection,” a whole wall of bookshelves of St. Newman’s own writings — from early editions to modern reprintings. Many of these works date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.
“The library has been collecting books by or about John Henry Newman for decades, starting sometime after the university was renamed in his honor in 1973,” said Wesley Cornett, director of the learning commons within Dugan Library. “It predates our current library building, as the previous building, Ryan Library, also contained the collection.”
The Heritage Room display also shows a few works inspired by St. Newman, written by different authors but dedicated to him. One of these is Newman’s very own: Sister Madeleine Kisner, who was a part of the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC) for 66 years.
Some of her published poetry dedicated to St. Newman is displayed for reading.
“She traveled and advocated, and she wrote letters, encouraging the Catholic Church and higher-ups, ‘this guy’s important,’” said Franz.
Carrying on St. Newman’s message
On the left middle shelf is a collection of pamphlets from university events, such as dinners, breakfasts or prayer services, held in St. Newman’s honor.
“Shirley and I decided we wanted to show, since (the university is) named after him, what we do to honor him and carry on his message,” Franz said. “On each side of his sketch are events that we just hold in his name.”
Shirley Rueb, a volunteer for the university’s archives and retired employee of more than 50 years at Newman, aided Franz in making decisions for the final display.
“Monica did most of the research and came up with the various divisions of Newman’s history, and I contributed my thoughts and comments about those,” Rueb said. “We had many interesting discussions about what should be displayed.”
Unknown artists
The display’s bottom left shelf is dedicated to St. Newman’s life before he was Catholic, said Franz.
“It’s his timeline and how he lived his life before he became a priest. He actually spoke out against the Catholic Church at some point. It’s an amazing story,” she said.
The shelf below it features a rendition of St. Newman’s coat of arms with his 1879 motto “Cor ad cor loquitor” (Heart speaks to heart). The artist of it, however, is unknown.
The same is true for most of the art featured in the display, said Franz, but it’s safe to assume they were done by past students or one of the ASC sisters.
“The records, they last, but the people, they retire or they pass away and then we lose that archival information unless it’s written down and documented and then turned over to the archives,” she said.
Both Franz and Rueb agreed that the center drawing of St. Newman is a standout in the display.
“My favorite item in the display is the large picture of Newman in the center of the display,” Rueb said. “I think it draws the viewer in and makes the viewer want to look at the rest of the items and information we have provided.”
Campus is celebrating St. Newman’s Feast Day on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. on the Founders Plaza. All are welcome to attend.
Explore Newman’s archives
The University Archives, established in the 1990s, documents the history of Newman University.
