Cardinal Newman to be exhumed ahead of 'imminent' beatification - Catholic Herald Online

[From the Catholic Herald]

By Peter Jennings
18 July 2008

The Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints has requested that the body of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman be exhumed from his grave and placed in the Birmingham Oratory to prepare for his beatification.

The Newman Cause is now far advanced in Rome and it is anticipated that Pope Benedict XVI will issue a decree declaring the 19th-century English convert as Blessed sometime in December this year.

Cardinal Newman is buried at Rednal, near Birmingham, in a small, secluded cemetery.

Fittingly, the body of Cardinal Newman will be put in a specially made, simple, marble sarcophagus and placed in his memorial church, opened in 1907, on the site of the old church, next to the Oratory House. Details of the sarcophagus and its exact position will be made public in September.

Fr Paul Chavasse, Provost of the Birmingham Oratory and postulator of the Newman Cause, said: 'One of the centuries-old procedures surrounding the creating of new saints by the Catholic Church concerns their earthly remains. These have to be identified, preserved and, if necessary, placed in a new setting which befits the individual's new status in the Church.

"This is what we have been asked to do by the Vatican with regard to Cardinal Newman's remains, which have lain at Rednal since his death in 1890.

"We hope that Cardinal Newman's new resting place in the Oratory Church in Birmingham will enable more people to come and pay their respects to him, and perhaps light a candle there."

He added: "Many will surely wish to honour this great and holy man."

Permission from the Ministry of Justice is required before exhumation.

Source: Cardinal Newman to be exhumed ahead of 'imminent' beatification - Catholic Herald Online