Look at this beautiful face. The fruits of the Holy Spirit embodied in a humble Priest.

Sometimes ordinary Catholics find it hard to 'warm to' Cardinal Newman. He seems so 'dry, ascetic, not very accessible', or 'too intellectual' - the list goes on ..
But I came across this video from Corpus Christi Watershed [see below] which shows his private Chapel, and I was struck by its homeliness. Just like my own home, and the homes of many Catholics, it is full of 'bits and pieces' - photos of those we want to pray for, In Memoriam cards, prayers we have come across and like - all stuck on the walls or leaning against a statue etc. This is the Chapel of a prayerful and humble person, with no pretentions to grandeur or impressiveness. I thought it gave a real insight to the man, the Priest and the Cardinal. I would have liked to know him!

Here is some further information from:
http://www.newmancause.co.uk/newman.html

Cardinal Newman, who is to be Blessed John Henry Newman, faced a life of trials, as he was suspected and even resented by some in authority. Several projects which he took up, including a magazine for educated Catholics, a mission at Oxford, and a new translation of the Bible, met with rejection or failure. On the other hand, many of his publications in this period were well-received: the Apologia pro Vita Sua(1864), a biographical account of Newman’s conversion; the Letter to the Duke of Norfolk (1875), which considered the relationship between conscience and the authority of the Church; and the Grammar of Assent (1870), on human reasoning and the act of faith, which although not always well understood by his contemporaries, would become generally acknowledged as an major contribution to both philosophy and theology.

During old age, Newman continued in Birmingham, quietly writing, preaching and counselling (from the age of twenty three he had been above all a pastor – ‘a father of souls’) until, when seventy eight, a big surprise came. As a tribute to his extraordinary work and devotion, Pope Leo XIII made the unprecedented gesture of naming Newman, an ordinary priest, a Cardinal. After a life of trials the news came as a joyful relief and Newman declared ‘the cloud is lifted for ever’. Cardinal Newman died on 11th August 1890 and received a universal tribute of praise.

The Times wrote: ‘whether Rome canonises him or not he will be canonised in the thoughts of pious people of many creeds in England.’ The Cork Examiner affirmed that, ‘Cardinal Newman goes to his grave with the singular honour of being by all creeds and classes acknowledged as the just man made perfect.’

Read what Pope John Paul II said about him in his Letter on the Bicentenary of Newman’s birth (on 22 January 2001):

Newman faced a life of trials, as he was suspected and even resented by some in authority. Several projects which he took up, including a magazine for educated Catholics, a mission at Oxford, and a new translation of the Bible, met with rejection or failure. On the other hand, many of his publications in this period were well-received: the Apologia pro Vita Sua (1864), a biographical account of Newman’s conversion; the Letter to the Duke of Norfolk (1875), which considered the relationship between conscience and the authority of the Church; and the Grammar of Assent (1870), on human reasoning and the act of faith, which although not always well understood by his contemporaries, would become generally acknowledged as an major contribution to both philosophy and theology.

During old age, Newman continued in Birmingham, quietly writing, preaching and counselling (from the age of twenty three he had been above all a pastor – ‘a father of souls’) until, when seventy eight, a big surprise came. As a tribute to his extraordinary work and devotion, Pope Leo XIII made the unprecedented gesture of naming Newman, an ordinary priest, a Cardinal. After a life of trials the news came as a joyful relief and Newman declared ‘the cloud is lifted for ever’. Cardinal Newman died on 11th August 1890 and received a universal tribute of praise. The Times wrote: ‘whether Rome canonises him or not he will be canonised in the thoughts of pious people of many creeds in England.’ The Cork Examiner affirmed that, ‘Cardinal Newman goes to his grave with the singular honour of being by all creeds and classes acknowledged as the just man made perfect.’

The Cardinal's Personal Chapel from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.