Oxford University Newman Society

The Newman Society: Oxford University Catholic Society (est. 1878 and 1990; current form 2012) is Oxford University's oldest Roman Catholic organisation, a student society named as a tribute to Cardinal Newman, who agreed to lend his name to a group formed seventeen years before the English hierarchy formally permitted Catholics to attend the university. The society was created by the merger in 2012 of the Newman Society and Oxford University Catholic Society, two independent Catholic student groups, which combined in order to bear witness to the unity and catholicity of the Church. It exists, according to its constitution, to: 'work in conjunction with the Chaplains to support and encourage Catholic students in their Christian vocation by promoting their personal, intellectual and spiritual development, social interaction, and apostolic witness within the broader context of their university experience', and has served as the model for Catholic student societies throughout the English-speaking world. While remaining aware and proud of the extensive heritage of the Newman Society, set out below, the Society is intensely conscious of its responsibility as the contemporary representative of the entire student Catholic community of Oxford University.