‘Seek the truth courageously’: Here’s the Pope’s advice to Oxford students

Pope Leo XIV has offered University of Oxford students some academic advice, telling them to “seek the truth courageously” and use their education to serve the common good.

The Pope delivered the words of wisdom while meeting a delegation of fellows, staff, and the Provost from Oriel College at the Vatican on 4th September.

The group travelled to Rome as part of celebrations marking 700 years since Oriel received its royal charter in 1326, making it the oldest college of royal foundation.

Addressing the delegation, Pope Leo pointed to former Oriel fellow St John Henry Newman as an example for Oxford students to follow, praising the theologian for demonstrating the “inseparability of faith and reason.”

He argued that education should go beyond purely academic achievement, highlighting Newman’s vision of an education which “embraces the entire person” and measures its value through “human dignity, justice, and the capacity to serve the common good.”

The Pope also encouraged students to have confidence when facing uncertainty, referencing Newman’s hymn Lead, Kindly Light and its message of trusting in guidance through uncertain periods of life.

‘A small but resilient defence of human judgement and human presence’

Oriel has a particularly strong connection with Newman, who was a fellow of the college from 1822 until 1845 and later became one of the Catholic Church’s most prominent English theologians.

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Pope Leo declared Newman a Doctor of the Church in 2025 and named him co-patron of the Church’s educational mission alongside St Thomas Aquinas.

During the Vatican meeting, the Pope also praised Oriel for maintaining its Christian identity throughout its centuries-long history, describing the college as not simply an academic institution but a “true community of faith and scholarship.”

Oriel Provost Lord Mendoza said: “We are deeply grateful to Pope Leo for receiving our delegation today and recognising our former Fellow Saint John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church.

“Our tutorial system’s sustained conversation between teacher and student is a small but resilient defence of human judgement and human presence.”

“It was an extraordinary privilege to be received by the Pope – likely the first-ever private audience granted to a delegation from the University of Oxford,” Oriel Chaplain, Revd Dr Robert Wainwright, told The Oxford Tab.

He added, “Oriel’s formal name is ‘The House of the Blessed Mary the Virgin in Oxford’ and the Pope suggested that this Christian foundation has been key over the centuries to making our college not only an academic institution but, in the deepest sense, a true community of faith and scholarship.

“I think Newman would be heartened to see what his legacy still inspires here today.”

Featured image via Vatican Media.