For Israel Lopez, it was a casino night and a dashboard Jesus. For Meghan Grill, it was a place to live when she moved away from home to go to school. For Father Connor Danstrom, it was the place where he began to discern his vocation to the priesthood. Newman Centers — Catholic ministry centers on non-Catholic college and university campuses — function in many ways like parishes, offering opportunities to attend Mass and receive the sacraments. But they also provide a place where Catholic students can find acceptance, support and, in many ways, “a home away from home,” as Danstrom put it. Newman Centers were named in honor of Blessed John Henry Newman and were inspired by his writings, according to www.newmanconnection.com. Newman was an Anglican priest in England who converted to Catholicism and was made a cardinal in 1879. He wrote extensively in the areas of theology and academics. The first Newman Center was established in 1893 at the University of Pennsylvania. Danstrom, who was ordained in 2014, was appointed chaplain of the St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago effective July 1. He succeeds Father Pat Marshall, who was chaplain at the center for 27 years. Among his first tasks was helping to oversee some physical updates to the center, including new flooring and furniture, a fresh coat of paint in some areas and new landscaping. That work is important because it helps create a welcoming atmosphere where students can feel at home, Danstrom said. “To me the most important aspect of the Newman Center is its physical presence on campus,” Danstrom said. “It has to be a place where students feel they can come and be welcomed as part of a community that knows and loves them. Newman should be a home away from home, where students feel comfortable to ask questions of people they trust to tell them the truth about God and how he teaches us to live. A lot of the work of Newman is done by the Holy Spirit — bringing students together around a common love of Christ to call each other to deeper knowledge and greater fidelity. “It should also be a fun place to be, where people can be themselves and enjoy college in a way that’s free of the excesses and emptiness that a lot of the typical college recreation offers. I want kids to hang out here, to read good books in their free time, to learn how to play musical instruments, to grow in their appreciation for their Catholic culture and heritage, to learn how to talk and listen to God and to each other, to make good friends and to be good friends to each other.” Mary Deeley, pastoral associate and director of the Christ the Teacher Institute at Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University, said Sheil works to provide a bridge to adult faith for students. “What we do for our Catholic students is provide a place where they can explore their faith,” she said. “Many of them haven’t had any training in the faith since they were confirmed, if they were confirmed, and what they learned at 13 doesn’t really feel relevant at 20 or 21.” The center offers catechesis and formation, as well as discernment groups for students, alongside offering the sacraments and social events. “I want us always to invite the students deeper into their faith, no matter where they are when they come here,” she said. The center is also a visible face of the church to the entire university community, Deeley said, and acts as a member of the wider community. Sheil, for example, houses the Purple Pantry, an initiative supported by many groups on campus, to help students who might be going hungry. Students who go to the centers say they are looking for a place to go to Mass, but also for a place to belong. Israel Lopez, a Chicago resident who is starting his sophomore year studying economics at UIC, said he signed up for newsletters from the Newman center at the beginning of last year. The first event he went to was a casino night, where he won a dashboard Jesus. “It was this event, along with others, that made me keep going back to it,” Lopez said “All of the events hosted by the Newman center allowed me to connect with other students of different majors and even grade levels. The Newman center and its events provided opportunities for networking I would have otherwise been unable to experience in a lecture hall with 200-plus students, all the while managing to bring it all back to Jesus and Catholicism by incorporating lessons we could take away.” Rebecca Siar, the director of campus ministry, said Newman centers are uniquely positioned to help students bridge the gap from high school to independence. “College students are constantly trying to answer the questions ‘who am I?’ and ‘what do I believe?’” Siar said. “Newman offers the space to ask questions, learn more and engage in something far beyond ourselves. College students become more independent while in school, so they have to make the decision to claim their faith as their own and be willing and ready to learn more about it. It’s so beautiful to see the students who desire that for themselves, and the Newman staff is ready and willing to walk with them along that journey.” Meghan Grill, who is starting her senior year studying kinesiology, began her college career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and lived in the Newman residence hall there. It only made sense for her to visit the St. John Paul II Newman Center when she started at UIC. She started with daily Mass, but soon joined a small Scripture study group and then began receiving spiritual direction. Then she joined other students to form a pro-life group on campus. At the center, she said is the Newman center. “The JP2 Newman Center allows me a break from the craziness of college life, and a time to just be in the stillness of God,” she said. “It allows me the opportunity to re-center myself amongst a sea of homework, work and plans on who I am, where I am and where I’m being called.” That’s what Danstrom found at another Newman center — St. John’s Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He, like Grill, lived in the center’s residence hall as an undergraduate studying biochemistry. “I know from experience how pivotal a positive experience of the church is during one’s college years,” he said. “People are open to life-changing decisions and new and exciting knowledge, especially if it’s practical. Helping a 20-year-old to discern God’s will for their life can make a huge impact on their lives.”
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