Newman Center

Named in honour of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Newman Centres are residence and Catholic ministry centers at non-Catholic universities throughout the world. They were inspired by Newman's writings encouraging societies for Catholic students attending secular universities.^[1]

The first Newman Center was established in 1893 at the University of Pennsylvania by Timothy Harrington, a graduate medical student, together with John Gilbride, James and Joseph Walsh with assistance of Father P.J. Garvey, pastor of the local St. James Catholic Church.

The centres provide pastoral services and ministries to their Catholic communities, in particular to the Roman Catholic student population within the universities. However, since these centres are located on university campuses, Christians of other denominations often come and participate as well. A variety of university and parish related meetings and social events take place at the centers, as well as personal events including weddings, anniversary celebrations, baptisms, masses and funeral receptions. Most trace their inspiration back to the Newman Society of Oxford University.

The following are partial lists of Newman Centers/Catholic Student Associations.

Canada

Toronto

Toronto's Newman Center is housed in the historical W.D. Matthews House, located at the corner of Hoskin Avenue and St. George Street, across from the Robarts Library on the University of Toronto campus. It is under the direction of the Archdiocese of Toronto and is associated with the neighbouring St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

The structure was built in 1890/1891 by wealthy Canadian businessman "The Barley King of Canada" Wilmot Deloui Matthews as his personal home. It is constructed of red clay, terra-cotta bricks, plum-coloured Credit Valley sandstone and pressed terra-cotta decorative elements. To celebrate his daughter’s wedding, Matthews hired architect George M. Miller and sculptor Gustav Hahn to design an Art Nouveau ballroom for his home. After his death in 1919, the house became a residence for Catholic students. Donations from two major benefactors allowed the Newman Foundation to purchase the property in 1922 for the sum of $100,000.

As a result, Toronto's Newman Centre is today one of that city's best preserved examples of Romanesque Revival architecture. It was one of the first buildings in Toronto to receive heritage status from the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 1977, not only for its exterior but also for the intricate and impressive interior design elements. The Archdiocese continues the preservation of the site despite the great expense. It is has also been used as a site for movie and television filming.

The property originally included a coach house on the current site of St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Father Patrick O'Dea served at Toronto's Newman Centre since 2001, and was succeeded by Father Michael Machacek in 2009.

Toronto's Newman Centre also has a diverse music ministry, with one main music ministry each for the 11 AM and the 7 PM Masses. The music for the 11 AM Mass, led by Matthew Otto features a traditional SATB choir with piano. The 7:00 PM music ministry plays music from the Gather Hymnal, as well as music from the contemporary Christian music genre, featuring a choir, cantors, a string and sax section, and a complete rhythm section of drums, bass, piano and guitar. This music ministry is led by Charles Min.

Kingston

Queen's University has a Newman Centre.

Montreal

Montreal's Newman Centre is located just off the McGill University campus on peel street. In 1954, Fr Emmett Carter (Newman chaplain and later Archbishop of Toronto) bought the private residence and carriagehouse at 3484 Peel Street. The funds for this purchase were raised by an association of lay Catholics. The Newman Centre continues to be administered today by the Newman Association of Montreal. Its present Director is Nathan Gibbard. It bears resemblance to Toronto's building.

Vancouver

University of British Columbia has a Newman Club.

Saskatoon

Saskatchewan's Newman Centre is located on the University of Saskatchewan campus at St. Thomas More College. The Newman Centre at the University of Saskatchewan represents itself as a Catholic campus club that seeks to provide a welcoming Christian atmosphere. The club was founded in 1926 in the tradition of Cardinal Newman. It is based out of St. Thomas More College but is for students in any college at the university. It is the goal of the Newman Centre to improve the lives of the members through an array of spiritual, cultural, social, and intellectual events. The Newman Centre works closely with STM Campus Ministry.

United States

St. John's Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—formerly known as the Newman Foundation—is the largest in the nation and has been considered one of the model Newman Centers in the United States. It encompasses three main entities: St. John's Catholic Chapel, Newman Hall, and the Institute of Catholic Thought. St. John's Catholic Newman Center finished an expansion/renovation in August 2008. St. John's is in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. It is one of the few Newman Centers that also encompasses a large undergraduate housing, through the University's Certified Private Housing program, having over 600 live-in residents, a cafeteria, etc.

St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Newman Center at Illinois State University—formerly known as the Newman Club—is one of the strongest Newman Centers for fostering vocations among young Catholic adults. The Newman Center proves this with its six newly married couples in 2008, three ordained priests, and currently twelve seminarians studying for the priesthood. St. Robert Bellarmine's is in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois, Chicago— serves the largest Catholic student population in the Midwest and one of the largest in the country. UIC has 25,000+ students to which over 15,000 are Catholic. The John Paul II Newman Center in 1999 established the Arthur J. Schmitt Chair in Catholic studies for students to study the Catholic faith and receive college credit for doing so. Currently, students may receive a minor in Catholic studies. Of the other programs the John Paul II Newman Center offers, Vocation Discernment is a key focus as they average 10-15 students each year who study to become priests and religious brothers and sisters. The Integritas Institute for Ethics, a third program, seeks to educate students on the importance of ethics and morality among students in various colleges around campus. The John Paul II Newman Center is in the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. Other Newman Centers/Programs in the Peoria Diocese include the Augustana Catholic Campus Ministry, Galesburg Newman Club, Monmouth Newman Club, Newman Foundation - Bradley University & ICC, St. Francis of Assisi Newman Center, and Salve Regina Newman Center at Eureka College.

All Saints Catholic Newman Center at Arizona State University serves the students, faculty, and staff of ASU, and also has an active community of all ages and backgrounds. All Saints is in the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

St. Mary's Catholic Center at Texas A&M University serves the student community there well. They made a bold decision to turn their permanent parishioners into volunteers for the campus ministry and discontinued all other parish programs not related directly to campus ministry. 200 families stayed and the rest went to the other parish in College Station. The Catholic Campus Ministry Association has done presentations before national audiences concerning the success of St. Mary's, hoping to inspire struggling ministries at other campuses.

The Newman Catholic Student Center Parish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Duke Newman Catholic Student Center at Duke University serve two of the larger Catholic Campus Ministry programs in the region. The Newman Centers provide activities such as Masses and prayer services, dinners, social events, and service opportunities such as the Alternative Spring Break program. The Diocese of Raleigh, NC also has Newman Centers at NC State, Elon University, UNC-Wilmington, and East Carolina University.

The Middlebury College Newman Club meets on Sundays for student mass. The club is associated with St. Mary's Catholic Church, found right next to the college's campus.

New Mexico has a Newman Centre in Saint Albert at New Mexico State University. The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque hosts the Aquinas Newman Center. Socorro, NM also has a Newman Center—St. Patrick's—which is hosted by New Mexico Tech. Silver City, NM has St. Francis Newman Center at Western New Mexico University

Oklahoma has a Newman Center at the University of Tulsa.

The Diocese of Lexington, covering 50 counties in Central and Eastern Kentucky, maintains Newman Centers at eight of the Commonwealth's colleges and Universities, including Berea College, Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, Union College, Georgetown College and Transylvania University. The Diocese of Covington maintains at least one Newman Center at Northern Kentucky University.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a Newman Center that serves the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Chatham College. It is run as part of the Pittsburgh Oratory of Saint Philip Neri.

Rolla, Missouri, has a recently renovated Newman Center that serves Missouri S&T, and hosts monthly spaghetti dinners for campus students.

Kirksville, Missouri has a Newman Center that serves Truman State University that is active in the community.

Prominent Newman Clubs in the Southern California region include the California State University (Cal State) Long Beach Newman Club,^[2] the Cal State Fullerton Newman Club, & Cal Poly Pomona Newman.

Central California has a Newman Center at California Polytechnic State University- San Luis Obispo^[3]

The Diocese of Sacramento has three Newman Centers, the Newman Catholic Community at California State University, Sacramento, the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center at California State University, Chico and Newman Center at University of California, Davis.

University of Hawaii Manoa has a Newman Center that also serves as the school's Catholic Campus Ministry. The center also goes by the name Holy Spirit Parish which draws parishioners from the surrounding community. Center is currently run by the Jesuits' under the Diocese of Honolulu.

The University of Chicago's Calvert House is also a Newman Center that serves as the center for Catholic life and service at the University.

The Archdiocese of Agana (the capital of Guam, territory of the United States) has a Newman Center for The University of Guam and Guam Community College, and is open to high school students as well.^[4]

The Roncalli Newman Center is a church with parish status in the diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is currently host to many students, as well as several hundred families, and functions as a normal parish.

Florida Institute of Technology has a Newman Club / Catholic Campus Ministry which had 20 active members in 2008. It is led by Fr. Doug Bailey and does various service project, spiritual activities, and outdoors and fun activities throughout the fall and spring semesters.^[5]

University of California, San Diego has a Newman Center. It operates out of the Center for Ethics and Spirituality on campus, and is run by priests of the Dominican Order.^[6]

University of Massachusetts, Amherst has a Newman Center located right off its campus. The Center offers Mass, but its most popular aspect is the cafe in the basement, which served breakfast all day, lunch, and dinner. It also has ping pong tables and other recreational activities to inspire the campus community and to welcome non-Catholics inside, without the pressure to attend Mass.

A list of other US Newman Centers has been kept up to date by the Newman Center at Caltech

Australia

University of Queensland and Charles Sturt University both house Newman Centres.

References

External links

[1] ttp://wsunewmancenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=53

[2] ttp://www.myspace.com/beachnewman

[3] ttp://www.slonewman.org

[4] ttp://newmancenterguam.com/

[5] ttp://www.fit.edu/ccm/

[6] ttp://www.catholicucsd.org/

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]