Newman Centre

Named in honour of John Henry Cardinal 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. [http://wsunewmancenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=53]

The [http://www.newman.upenn.edu/ext/History/Default.asp 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. 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 Hoskins and St. George Streets, across the street 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.

Queen's University also houses a Newman Centre.

Montreal

Montreal's Newman Centre is located on the McGill University campus. 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. It's Director is Richard Bernier.It bears resemblance to Toronto's building.

Vancouver

University of British Columbia has a Newman Club.

askatoon

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 is a Catholic campus club that seeks to provide a welcoming Christian atmosphere. The club was founded in 1926 in the tradition of Cardinal Newman. The Newman Centre 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

[http://www.sjcnc.org 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 is currently undergoing further expansion. St. John's is in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

[http://www.isucatholic.org St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Newman Center] at Illinois State University--formerly known as the Newman Club--is one of the strongerst Newman Centers for fostering vocations amoung young Catholic adults. The Newman Center proves this with its six newly married coulples in 2008, three ordained priests, and currently twelve seminarians studying for the priesthood. St. Robert Bellarmine's is in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

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.

[http://www.aggiecatholic.org/ 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 voulnteers 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 [http://www.newman-chapelhill.org Newman Catholic Student Center Parish] at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the [http://www.duke.edu/web/catholic/ 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.

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.

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 [http://www.myspace.com/beachnewman] , the Cal State Fullerton Newman Club, & Cal Poly Pomona Newman.

Central California has a Newman Center at California Polytechnic State University- San Luis Obispo [http://www.slonewman.org]

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 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. [http://newmancenterguam.com/]

A list of other US Newman Centers has been kept up to date by the [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/OtherNC.html Newman Center at Caltech]

Australia

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

External links

* [http://www.newmancentre.com Saskatoon Newman Centre]
*http://www.newmantoronto.com
* [http://www.myspace.com/beachnewman Cal State Long Beach Newman Club]
* [http://www.pittsburghoratory.org/campusministry/ The Newman Center at the Pittsburgh Oratory]
* [http://www.sjcnc.org St. John's Catholic Newman Center]
* [http://www.newman-chapelhill.org UNC Newman Catholic Student Center Parish]
* [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/OtherNC.html List of Newman Centers]
* [http://www.cbservices.org/ccma.nsf/CampusSites?OpenForm Catholic Campus Ministry websites]
* [http://www.newmanhawaii.org Newman Center Hawaii]