All events of the day›2026-09-04›Audience with the members of the delegation of Oriel College, University of Oxford
🎓 Audience
Audience with the members of the delegation of Oriel College, University of Oxford
📍 Apostolic Palace, Consistory Hall, Vatican City
Pope Leo XIV receives in audience the Provost, the Fellows and other members of Oriel College, Oxford, who have come to Rome on pilgrimage in the footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman for the 700th anniversary of the granting of the College's royal charter (founded in 1326 at the wish of King Edward II). In his greeting the Pope recalls that, through centuries of change and upheaval, Oriel has remained firm in its Christian identity and in its "Catholic origins as the College of the Blessed Virgin Mary", an identity that makes it not merely an academic institution but "a true community of faith and wisdom". He points to Newman as a shining example of the inseparability of faith and reason — lived even before it was written — recognised in his declaration as a Doctor of the universal Church and co-patron of the Church's educational mission. Drawing on the Apostolic Letter "Drawing New Maps of Hope" (28 October 2025), he calls the members of the College to a "Christian formation that embraces the entire person" and measures it "according to human dignity, justice and the capacity to serve the common good", urging them to "seek the truth courageously" and to promote an "integral anthropological vision" that can foster a "heart to heart" encounter with others and with Christ.
Greeting to the delegation of Oriel College, University of Oxford
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you! Good morning to all of you, and welcome. Your Eminence, dear friends, on your pilgrimage to Rome, in the footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the granting of Oriel College's royal charter, I am pleased to welcome to the Vatican the Provost, together with the Fellows and other members of the College.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you! Good morning to all of you, and welcome.
Your Eminence, dear friends, on your pilgrimage to Rome, in the footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the granting of Oriel College's royal charter, I am pleased to welcome to the Vatican the Provost, together with the Fellows and other members of the College.
Oriel certainly has a long and illustrious history which, over such an extended period, has witnessed and experienced many changes, events and even upheavals. Yet the College has remained firm in its Christian identity. Your anniversary is therefore an opportunity to celebrate its "Catholic origins as the College of the Blessed Virgin Mary". Indeed, this identity is fundamental to what has made, and can continue to make, Oriel not only an academic institution but a true community of faith and wisdom in the deepest sense. The College can thus look with confidence to its past contributions as a secure foundation and guide for its future endeavours.
In this regard, Saint John Henry Newman is a shining example of a scholar who demonstrated the inseparability of faith and reason not only in his works, but even more admirably in his life. His religious convictions were rooted in his personal relationship with God, while his learning was both sublime and eminently practical. The depths of both these dimensions of his life were acknowledged in his declaration as a Doctor of the universal Church and co-patron of the Church's educational mission. It is surely providential that your anniversary pilgrimage takes place so close to an event of such importance both for you and for the whole Catholic Church.
Moreover, in the context of today's challenges, Newman's thought on education is particularly relevant, for it proposes "a Christian formation that embraces the entire person and measures the value of education according to human dignity, justice and the capacity to serve the common good" (cf. Apostolic Letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, 4.2, 28 October 2025). In your own academic endeavours, I likewise encourage you to seek the truth courageously and to promote this integral anthropological vision. In this way, your work can genuinely facilitate a "heart to heart" encounter with your brothers and sisters, and especially with our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life (cf. Jn 14:6).
Finally, in his famous hymn, Newman showed his great confidence that God would lead him amid the uncertainties of life. I urge you, then, to entrust yourselves and the future of the College to the unfailing Light of the world, so that you too, like Our Lady, may reflect his glory to the world.
With these thoughts, I commend you to the intercession of Saint John Henry Newman and the Blessed Virgin Mary. And I now invite you to stand, and very gladly I will impart to all of you, to your families and to your loved ones the Apostolic Blessing.