John Henry Newman: Cardinal to be made saint in October

John Henry Newman, who was born in 1801, was ordained as a priest in 1847 after converting to Catholicism

Cardinal John Henry Newman will be made a saint later this year, the Pope has confirmed.

Pope Francis has announced the date of the canonisation as 13 October.

Newman founded the Birmingham Oratory in 1849 and, when he died at the age of 89, 15,000 people lined the city's streets for his funeral.

He will be the first English saint since the Forty Martyrs were canonised in 1970, after being executed under Reformation laws.

The Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols said it was a "moment of great pride".

"John Henry Newman is known for many great qualities, but we remember him particularly for the kindness and compassion of his ministry to the people of Birmingham," he said.

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It comes after a second miracle in his name was confirmed by the Pope earlier this year.

Two authenticated miracles are required before sainthood and Newman has been credited with curing a man's spinal disease and is now said to have healed a woman's unstoppable bleeding.

Newman was beatified (the process in which an individual is declared blessed after a miracle is attributed to him or her) in 2010 by Pope Benedict before tens of thousands of people in his home city.

Newman founded the Birmingham Oratory in Edgbaston in 1849

During his life, Newman was a respected religious scholar, who spent much of his time helping the poor and sick.

He also helped to found what would later become the University College Dublin.

The British Ambassador to the Holy See, Sally Axworthy, added: "Cardinal Newman had a major impact on Catholic theology and on education worldwide, making him a truly global Briton.

"I very much look forward to the celebrations."