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Letter
July 2008
Dear Editor/Producer:
The end of summer means ‘back-to-school‘ and that includes Catholic students heading to college. It’s not surprising that many Catholic media outlets cover the return of students to Catholic colleges and universities, but what we rarely see in our Catholic papers publications and broadcast outlets are the stories of what’s happening at our public universities. What are our Catholic young people returning to at Ivy League, Big 10 and other secular campuses?
For eighty years, at a Big 10 campus, students have been returning to a “home-away-from-home” where their Catholic faith is honored, protected and fostered. St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) has served approximately 70,000 students over eight decades. The largest Newman Center of its kind and the only Newman Center to offer residential housing, St. John’s is a piece of United States Catholic history.
In 1924, the Knights of Columbus purchased a plot of land for St. John’s. In 1927, St. John’s Chapel first opened its doors to college students attending the University of Illinois and provided a place for students to receive the Sacraments and attend Mass. In 1943, Fr. Edward Duncan became chaplain of St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the age of 24 and remained the chaplain for 54 years – the longest tenure for a Catholic chaplain on a public university campus. Over the 80 years, the Center added residential facilities to house students – and at one point during World War II – US Army soldiers. Today, Newman Hall has one of the highest retention rates and GPA’s for its residents among all university housing. In 1982, the Pope’s apostolic delegate, Archbishop Laghi rededicated the Chapel and its facilities. In 2001, St. John’s opened the Institute of Catholic Thought for credit and non-credit courses for University students. The Institute was recently granted accreditation to offer Master’s Degrees in Theology.
In the past eleven years alone, 88 men and women have gone on from St. John’s Catholic Newman Center to study for the priesthood or religious life.
On September 6 and 7, St. John’s will make history again and open new doors in its stunning tradition. A new residential facility will include 127,000 square feet of student living quarters, study and social lounges, computer labs, and dining area which includes a café and convenience store for university students whether they live at Newman or not. The dedication of these facilities will include a Dedication Mass, a ribbon cutting ceremony, and a gala dinner featuring VIP’s from the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center legacy as well as special guests from the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Diocese of Peoria, and the University of Illinois.
This is one of those “best-kept-secret” stories of American Catholic history! We hope you will tell it.
Sincerely,
Christine Schicker
The Maximus Group
404-610-8871
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