This volume contains a selection of Newman's periodic publications from the middle and late periods of his association with the Catholic University of Ireland. The Rise and Progress of the Universities consists of twenty articles and, together with the Benedictine Essays, reveals a full picture of Newman's educational views.

John Henry Newman, (1801-1890) was a Roman Catholic priest and cardinal, a convert from Anglicanism in October 1845. In his early life, he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. Both before and after becoming a Roman Catholic, he wrote influential books, including Via Media, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865-66) and the Grammar of Assent (1870). He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.