Cardinal John Henry Newman will be made a saint, the Pope has announced, making him the first English person to be canonised in almost 50 years.

The respected religious scholar, who dedicated himself to helping the poor and sick, died in 1890 aged 89.

Newman founded the Birmingham Oratory in 1849 and also helped found what is now University College Dublin.

Pope Francis announced that his canonisation will be held on October 13.

The last canonisation in England and Wales was in 1970 when Pope Paul VI made 40 English and Welsh martyrs saints. They had been executed under Reformation laws.