A new documentary about the life of St. John Henry Newman has premiered in Rome.
The film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman” premiered at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, marking the first celebration of his feast day since Pope Leo XIV declared him the 38th doctor of the Church in 2025.
The movie, produced by Lumine Studios in Brazil, features places significant to Newman’s life, including his childhood home in London, the University of Oxford, and Rome, where he studied for the Catholic priesthood after converting from Anglicanism.
The movie is available in English on the Catholic media website Formed.
‘A story of conversion and great personal sacrifice’
Father Hermann Geissler, FSO, director of the International Centre of Newman Friends in Rome, described the movie as a demonstration of faith and the significant personal sacrifices that would mark Newman’s life.
“It is a documentary film where we visit all of the places where Newman lived, doing interviews,” Geissler told EWTN News, “and where we are telling the story of Newman and reading parts of Newmanʼs letters. It is a wonderful film that shows the great faith of Newman, the sacrifice that his conversion cost, and the coherence of his life and thought.”
A doctor and patron for Catholic education
Pope Francis canonized Newman along with four others in 2019, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in Birmingham, England, in 2010.
In 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a doctor of the Church and a co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily, the pontiff cited Newman’s famous hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” to highlight the need for education to inspire hope.
“The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,” Leo said. “For this reason, I would like to say to you: Let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us share the great reasons for hope in today’s world.”
In February, the Vatican established Newman’s feast day as Oct. 9 in the General Roman Calendar.