John Henry Newman, Hymn Writer

This is the day that …John Henry Newman wrote his immortal hymn …
Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead Thou me on;
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
the distant scene – one step enough for me.

Newman was ‘at sea, 16 June, 1833’ when he penned those words.

At the age of 32 this Church of England clergyman had visited the continent in an effort to regain his health. In Sicily he caught a fever that brought him to the brink of death. Besides all of this, there was mental turmoil over spiritual issues.

It was on the voyage home to England – ‘on a merchant vessel carrying a load of oranges’ – that he wrote his famous hymn.

Twelve years later he forsook the Church of England and joined the Church of Rome.

In 1879 he was made a cardinal. He died the following year, at the age of 89.

This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com.

Tags: church of england, church of rome, england, hymn writer, john henry newman