My first introduction to Cardinal John Henry Newman was through his beautiful poetry, especially the poems Lead Kindly Light and I Have a Mission.

I had just entered our community, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, in Connecticut, leaving my family in Italy to begin my discernment process, strive to do God’s will, and be attentive to his day-to-day gentle guidance. Though I experienced deep joy and excitement, there were also many fears, uncertainties, and dark moments.

Those two poems truly spoke to my heart. Far from my home and my family, I needed to be led by him, one step at the time.

Though I wanted “to choose and see my path” (Lead Kindly Light), God, through my community, was now taking the lead and I needed and wanted to let him.

God had a plan for my life. “He has not created me for naught,” so “I will trust Him, whatever, wherever I am” (I Have a Mission).

I am now a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist serving in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. In my work at the archdiocese, and previously at Saint Mark’s and Corpus Christi College, my love and admiration for Cardinal John Henry Newman has taken on another, new, dimension.

A few years ago I was asked to lead a group of young adults on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi with one of my sisters. We were blessed to celebrate Mass at the Propaganda Fide Chapel, where Cardinal Newman was ordained a priest and celebrated his first Mass.

The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, known as the Propaganda Fide, is responsible for the promotion, coordination, and direction of the work of evangelization of peoples and of the missionary efforts in the Church. On Oct. 1, the congregation began the celebration of the Extraordinary Missionary Month, called by Pope Francis, to enable all the faithful to take to heart the proclamation of the Gospel and to help their communities grow in missionary zeal.

During this Extraordinary Missionary Month in Vancouver, as we prepare for the Upper Room Conference Oct. 26 and launch the Proclaim Movement, which is focused on sending Catholics out to evangelize, I truly believe Cardinal Newman’s canonization is one of the most timely and urgent.

A strong promoter of the involvement of the laity in the mission of the Church, Cardinal John Henry Newman will be a faithful intercessor for the lay men and women who are leaders in our parishes and communities and a great role model for all in ministry. 

With his love and desire for an educational system that would provide a place for integrated human growth and intellectual and spiritual formation, he has become for me an invaluable guide, as we in the Ministries and Outreach Office work to support and form – body and soul – the lay people involved in the day-to-day work of evangelization and catechesis.

Sister Angela Marie Castellani is a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist and a coordinator for the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s Ministries and Outreach Office. Cardinal John Henry Newman will be canonized in Rome Sunday, Oct. 13.