‘Global impact’ of man who will become England’s first saint of the modern age

Ambassador Sally Axworthy described Cardinal Newman as a “giant” of the 19th century whose poetry, sermons and books went beyond a religious audience and spoke to all people.

The Prince of Wales will lead the UK’s representation at the open-air ceremony in Rome on Sunday, where Pope Francis will declare the cardinal a saint in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square, the first English saint of the modern age.

Ms Axworthy, who is Britain’s top diplomat to the Holy See, the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, said: “It’s an important moment for the Catholic Church but also Holy See relations.

“It’s the first British saint canonised in over 40 years and the first post-Reformation saint, and I think Cardinal Newman is important as he’s someone who had a global impact.

“I know he has a strong following in the United States, Latin America and certainly a strong following in the Vatican, lots of people have talked to me about how they’ve been moved by Newman’s writings.

“Obviously he had a huge impact on theology, but he was someone who examined his own faith in enormous detail and that meant also asking some difficult questions about having faith in a world which was becoming increasingly secularised – he thought and wrote about that.”

London-born Cardinal Newman, who died in England in 1890 aged 89, had been hailed by former Pope Benedict XVI…