The John Henry Newman Institute at Francisco de Vitoria University (Madrid) is dedicated to exploring the great existential questions and the search for the meaning of life as a fundamental path to understanding reality. We start from a shared conviction: to be a true member of the university community—whether as a teacher or as a student—it is essential to discover the purpose of one’s own work, integrating what one studies with the meaning of one’s own life. Within this horizon of openness, the question of God is part of this journey.
The search for truth and the meaning of our existence is neither a mere intellectual exercise nor a whim for times of leisure; it is the overriding need to answer the questions of who we are and what we are doing here. We undertake this task within and through the University, embracing its methods and rigour. For this reason, no field of science is foreign to us: we delve into all of them to better understand the complexity of reality and the Mystery that underlies it.
In the Footsteps of John Henry Newman, a Seeker of Truth
John Henry Newman was born and lived in England and Ireland during the 19th century. He served as an Anglican priest until his conversion to Catholicism in 1845 and was always a seeker of truth. Through his own life, he came to realize that loving the truth is worth more than life itself.
He was one of those men who devoted his life to understanding that “something more,” and he spent most of his time doing so within and for the university—through the sciences, the study of educational methods, and the development of the university as an institution. That is why this Institute bears his name. It is well worth getting to know this figure and understanding why we follow in his footsteps here at Francisco de Vitoria University.
