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Newman Center at St. Thomas More Oratory on University of Delaware campus has new set of leaders helping students find their faith

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Bishop Koenig is flanked by Father Rich Jasper, left, and Father James Gebhart outside the Newman Center at St. Thomas More Oratory on the campus of University of Delaware.

The best aspect of any college campus Newman Center is a place full of students.

The University of Delaware has a Newman Center at St. Thomas More Oratory. Leaders there have been working on a rebrand and most importantly on getting the message out that it’s a place on campus serving students and run by students.

And it has some new faces leading the faith-centered Catholic community.

Father Rich Jasper, pastor, and Father James Gebhart were assigned to run the place after the departure of Father Tim McIntire, OSFS, who moved on from the Diocese of Wilmington to teach high school students in Ohio with his brother Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The Oblates had in recent years run the campus ministry at Delaware before the diocese sent two of their priests to take over for Father McIntire last summer.

The two priests in their first year on campus have been busy gathering ideas and helping students put them in place. They’re also running another parish, Immaculate Conception in nearby Elkton, Md., and its mission parish, St. Jude, in North East, Md. Father Jasper had already been at Immaculate Conception. First-year priest Father Gebhart was sent to join him as associate pastor in both the Maryland and campus parishes after his ordination in May.

Father Richard Jasper
Father Richard Jasper

“It’s been good transition for us, getting to know our young people and what they need from us, as we are really trying to focus on students,” Father Jasper said in an interview with the Dialog. “We want them to know everything about here is the student center and student-focused. Even our preaching, our activities and things we want to do are to say to our campus ‘This is your home as students while you’re here at the University of Delaware.’”

The Sunday Mass schedule while students are on campus is 11:30 Sunday morning and 8:30 Sunday night. Both have seen increased attendance, the priests said.

“This was always meant to be the student place for worship,” Father Jasper said. He said first-semester results were good.

“We have to be bold and not be afraid to move forward,” the pastor said. “How do we reach students now? They’re coming.

“Obviously, they’re searching for something. The fact that we have 100 students at 8:30 Mass on Sunday night, and most of that Mass is students, they’re searching for something – whether it’s a moment of peace, whether it’s some prayer time, whether the Mass is speaking to them, maybe they need the message of a homily. Even our 11:30 Mass – we do have adults coming – but we always need to be sure the message is geared toward the students. There have been 11:30 Masses where there is standing room only.

Father James Gebhart was ordained a priest May 18, 2023.

Seating capacity at the church is 180, but the center has more space dedicated to students’ programs and activities. And for the last couple of years, the center has increased peer-generated interest with the addition of FOCUS ministers, young adults who are not far removed from their own college experience and aim to help draw young people back to the church.

“They are doing a great job,” Father Jasper said. “Out there, going on campus, saying ‘hey, campus ministry is here, and we have a bible study.’”

Programming has focused on service and recreational and educational activities as groups of young Catholics keep busy on campus.

Every Wednesday the center hosts “Newman Nights” which includes 5 p.m. Mass, adoration and confession, then a social. “We always feed them on Wednesdays,” Father Jasper said. Service includes making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the less fortunate, visits to nearby Jeanne Jugan Residence run by Little Sisters of the Poor and other student-driven efforts. They also had a sold-out hayride and bonfire in the fall.

“Service a lot of times reaches students when liturgical practices do not,” Father Jasper said.

Father James Gebhart, left, and Father Rich Jasper, pastor, in procession with Bishop Koenig at the Immaculate Conception parish 175th anniversary Mass Dec. 6. Dialog photo/Don Blake

Leaders on campus consider the name change as more of a rebrand – the Newman Center at St. Thomas More Oratory — providing the “Newman Center” moniker as a recognizable name that Catholic parents and others would have encountered during their college years.

“It’s actually recovering the brand that it’s had,” said William Hamant, director of campus ministry and catechesis. “It was founded as the Newman club in the ’40s. People know it as the name of the Catholic center at secular universities.”

Getting the word out and being present among social media platforms in the digital world is part of meeting students where they are, Father Gebhart said.

“I think it’s a tragedy that a Catholic student goes through their entire time here and never knows that we existed,” he said.

“We want to provide a place where students can get their sacraments, obviously,” Father Gebhart said. “Opportunities for confession, adoration, but also their social life. Come here to study, hangout in our student lounge. Activities indoor and out. Our main priority here is everything is student-centered and student-led. I want to challenge students, too, to invite their friends, see this as a comfortable setting.”

“Father Gebhart and I are really, truly catering the homily message to where these students are,” Father Jasper said. “It’s all about vocation awareness, so we can preach to them in a different way than I do to the Immaculate Conception folks down the road.

“To the Immaculate folks, I’m saying we need to pray, we need to ask. Here … I specifically spoke to the young people and said, ‘Look, you’re being called to a holy vocation. Whether that’s marriage or priesthood or religious life. Be open.’ And they heard it differently here than they would have at other parishes. I can talk about the issues that they’re dealing with that our older parishioners are not. That’s why I think this really has to be student-centered.”

“It’s such a great point in their lives,” Father Gebhart said. “They’re making adult decisions about everything. They can make adult decisions about their faith. And we want to help them to find their faith and grow it.”

Joseph P. Owens is editor of The Dialog. Email him at jowens@thedialog.org