The last Englishman to be made a Saint for performing miracles more than 100 years after he died has been remembered in a village near Maidstone .

Cardinal John Henry Newman was canonised two years ago by Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of his holy life and for healing a man who couldn't walk and for saving the life of an expectant mother told she'd likely miscarry.

During his earlier career, and before he converted to Catholicism, he spent two summers looking after the parish of Ulcombe.

People there felt that a fitting tribute would be a blue plaque in his memory and this now stands proudly near the village church.

So who was John Newman? He was born in London in 1801 and discovered religion in his teenage years.

He took Anglican orders and was ordained as deacon in 1824, and then a priest in 1825, becoming curate of St Clement's Church in Oxford, where he became noted for his care in visiting all his parishioners, especially the sick and the poor.

He became known for being an enthralling preacher and people travelled from miles around to hear him.

In 1833 on a trip to Sicily, Newman became seriously ill with typhoid. After 10 days close to death, he was so thankful for his survival that he dedicated his life to bringing about a renewal of the church.

He began to challenge the status quo of the church and in 1845 converted to Catholicism which saw a rift open up with his family, but he became a staunch defender of the faith.

He was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII who admired his fierce religious orthodoxy and as well as being a theologian and educationalist, Newman became known for visiting the sick, those in prison and for his care and compassion.

He died aged 89 on August 11, 1890. Tens of thousands lined the streets of Birmingham for the passing of his funeral cortege.

That could have been the end of Newman's story, but in 2000 his work once again came to international prominence.

That year Jack Sullivan, from Boston, Massachusetts, was beginning the final year of his four-year course to become a deacon - the level of Catholic ministry below priesthood - when he was struck by crippling back pain.

He was diagnosed with a serious spinal injury and was on the brink of paralysis.

He underwent an operation but the protective lining around his spinal cord was badly damaged and he was still suffering incredible pain.

Faced with never being able to return to his training, Mr Sullivan prayed: "Please Cardinal Newman help me to walk so that I can return to classes and be ordained."

He said he immediately felt a sensation of heat washing over his body. When it ebbed away, he found he could walk and the pain had gone.

"Please Cardinal Newman make the bleeding stop..."

His cure was officially acknowledged as a miracle on June 2, 2009, by which time, Mr Sullivan had long been ordained as a Deacon.

The second miracle involved Melissa Villalobos from Chicago.

At the end of April 2013, Mrs Villalobos discovered she was pregnant, but began to experience loss of blood. Medics realised she'd suffered a torn placenta and it was highly likely she would miscarry.

On May 15, she was at home but bleeding so badly that she collapsed on the bathroom floor, and feared not only for her baby's life but also for her own.

At that point she cried out: “Please Cardinal Newman make the bleeding stop.”

It did so at once. She was able to get up and carry on with her life and later gave birth to a healthy daughter, Gemma.

After an initial investigation carried out by the archdiocese of Chicago, the account of the miracle was submitted to the Holy See in 2018.

The theologians voted unanimously that the healing was a miracle performed by God through the intercession of Blessed John Henry Newman.

The Vatican must authenticate two miracles to declare someone a saint. The process cannot begin until at least five years after the subject has died, and it involves analysing evidence of their holiness and their work.

Newman's was one of five canonisations conducted by Pope Francis at an open-air ceremony in Rome in 2019. The Prince of Wales was the UK's lead representative and Mr Sullivan and Mrs Villalobos were among the congregation.

But while he was still an Anglican priest, John Henry Newman had spent two summers, in 1826 and in 1827, staying in Ulcombe with his friend, the Rev Samuel Rickard. When the Rev Rickard took his family on holiday, Newman would fill in for him, looking after the parish.

The Committee of the Friends of Ulcombe Church decided two years ago that it would be good to erect a blue plaque in the village to commemorate the link, and although the process has taken longer than expected due to Covid, a plaque was finally unveiled this month by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, The Lady Colgrain, assisted by Molly Poulter, who had organised the event. The MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, Helen Whately, was also present at the ceremony.

The plaque has been placed on the wall of Ulcombe Place, so that everyone can see it as they walk to the village's All Saints Church.

Anglicans as well as Roman Catholics, then repaired to the church for a talk on Newman by Charles, Lord Moore of Etchingham, the former editor of the Daily Telegraph and the authorised biographer of Margaret Thatcher.

The afternoon ended with prayers from Ulcombe’s Vicar, the Rev John Huggins and from the Roman Catholic priest of Headcorn, Michael Woodgate.

In 2019, Carol Parkinson, secretary of the Friends of Newman, spoke of why his work still remains relevant now, saying: "The work the cardinal did here continues.

"He worked in prisons, his group of Oratorians worked with people in hospitals, in schools.

"He was a friend to everybody on the streets, to people in high places and power, with the poor, the rich, the famous, the unknown.

"His memory has never been forgotten."