John Henry Newman was a major figure in the development of Roman Catholicism in England in the nineteenth century, and indeed he exercised a vital influence on the religious life of the nation. Newman left numerous writings about his life and his theology, and these have been influential ever since. His autobiography, Apologia pro Vita Sua, details his spiritual journey and the development of the theological thought that caused him to change his religious affiliation from the Anglican church to the Roman Catholic Church. In his autobiography, Cardinal Newman not only discussed the strength of his conversion and the nature of his spiritual shift, but also provides a strong defense of Catholicism against its critics and against those who would challenge his thought because of the conversion he underwent. Included in the work is an account of his role in the development of the Oxford Movement, a liberal, intellectual movement seeking reform from within the Anglican Church. Another of his major works is The Idea of a University in which he further examines the meaning of liberalism and of the liberal education he espoused.
Newman was born in 1801 in London. His father was a member of a banking family, and his mother was the descendant of a French Protestant family that had come to England at the end of the seventeenth century. John Henry was baptized in the Anglican Church, the church of his parents. John henry spent his childhood in Old Broad Street, London, except for six years when his family lived at Grey's Court, Ham, near Richmond. The family consisted of three boys and three girls and belonged to the middle class (Lapati 13).
Newman's formal education began in 1808 at a private school at Ealing, and there his scholarship and leadership abilities surfaced. He was said to have progressed in his studies at a pace more rapid than others in his class, and he read constantly, keeping notes in a diary faithfully. He also w...