By Father James Gebhart
Diocese of Wilmington
In 1946, the “Newman Club” began in the back room of a pharmacy on Main Street in Newark. It aimed to minister to the Catholic students of what was then a much smaller University of Delaware.
Eighty years later, the Newman Center at St. Thomas More Oratory stands as a dedicated space on a campus of over 20,000 students, and it serves as the parish for our Catholic students during their college years. Each week, hundreds of students walk through the doors of the Newman Center to attend Mass, learn about the Scriptures in Bible studies, share a meal with one another, and find a Catholic community that is grounded in faith, strong values, and ultimately, Christ and his church.
To ask a student what the Newman Center is to them, you will often hear the word “home.” It is a familiar place to them as they spend time there throughout the week, build friendships within it, and find that their place in the larger Catholic church is lived out in this building on the center of campus.
In recent years, the Newman Center has become home for a growing number of students, as student involvement has increased tremendously. This year, students participating in OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) has doubled with twenty students preparing to receive the sacraments this Easter. Additionally, 150 students have participated in one of sixteen Bible studies this year already, which has exceeded the hope and goal for the school year.
What is evident at the Newman Center is students who are seeking God and striving to live out their faith in their everyday lives. Often times, this begins with a student attending a Sunday Mass for the first time. No student who walks into the chapel on a Sunday is unnoticed. They are always greeted by one of our priests, student leaders, a FOCUS missionary, and the campus minister. From these personal encounters, students are invited to be a part of more. They are invited to join the community on retreats, form a life of prayer, serve the hungry in the local area, participate as an altar server or reader at Mass, spend time with residents at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Newark, attend social gatherings and truly become a part of a Catholic community of their peers.
As these students advance through their college years, it is so inspiring to see them advance in their life of faith as well, as they deepen in their identity as Catholics and disciples of Jesus Christ.
The ministry of the Newman Center is focused on a critical time in the life of young Catholics. At a pivotal crossroads of life, when college students are making major life decisions, this ministry is there to help each student as they navigate their life of faith.
The Newman Center team is always eager to assist students in any way possible—answering questions about the faith, offering direction during difficult moments, and providing a space where students know they are cared for and accompanied.
The sincere hope of this ministry is that it will provide the necessary foundation for college students in their Catholic faith so that they will lead faithful lives long after they finish college. These students are the next generation of parishioners in our parishes, and investing in them now is so vital for the future of our church. As these students have found a home at the Newman Center, we hope they will always find their home in the Catholic Church no matter where they are or where life takes them.
Father James Gebhart is parochial vicar at St. Thomas More Oratory and Immaculate Conception, Elkton, Maryland.
