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Catholic Campus Ministry

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• WPI Campus Ministry History
• What Does Catholic Ministry Do?

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Introduction

Campus ministry began in the U.S. Catholic Church in 1883 when Mrs. Melvin invited some Catholic students from the University of Wisconsin to Thanksgiving dinner. During the course of the dinner, the students complained about the "anti-Catholic" attitude of some of their professors. Mrs. Melvin suggested they begin a literary club - which were very popular at that time - to help them grow in their understanding of Catholicism.

One of the students involved in "the Melvin Club" - Timothy Harrington - later started a similar group at the University of Pennsylvania. He named it "the Newman Club" after reading John Henry Cardinal Newman's The Idea of the University.

The Newman Movement grew along with other Catholic student movements. Bishops started to appoint Chaplains to these groups. Centers were built. After World War II, there was a great surge of Catholic students entering college.

In 1985 the American Bishops wrote a pastoral letter on campus ministry entitled, Empowered by the Spirit: Campus Ministry Faces the Future. In that document the Bishops define campus ministry as "the official presence of the Church on campus."

Today there are still Newman Centers, but there are also University Parishes, Campus Ministry Departments, Campus Ministry Offices, and Catholic Student Associations.

Campus ministry has grown considerably over the past 100 years, but it still has a long way to go. Consider these facts:

One out of every three college students is Catholic.

that's 4.7 million people!

there are more Catholic colleges in our country than Catholics in the Archidiocese of L.A.!

Catholics are 25% of the population, but 35% of the college student population!

There are 3,500 institutes of higher education in the U.S.

There are only 1,200 organized Catholic Campus Ministries

In 1987, when Pope John Paul II visited the United States, he celebreated Eucharist at 3 state universities and presided over an academic convocation at Xavier University in New Orleans. In his address, the Holy Father said:

One cannot meet with college and university students anywhere in the world without hearing their questions and sensing their anxieties. In their hearts, your students have many questions about faith, religious practice, and holiness of life. Each one arrives on your campuses with a family background, a personal history, and an acquired culture. They all want to accepted, loved and supported by a Christian educational community which shows friendship, and authentic spiritual commitment.

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WPI Campus Ministry History

In 1915, a group of Catholic students formed a Newman Club on campus for the benefit of Catholic students. They sought formal recognition as a student organization on campus but were denied it by school authorities. However, in the early nineteen twenties, formal recognition was granted, and since then the Newman Club has been an official student club on campus. During the first thirty-five years of the Newman Club's existence, the officers of the Club would seek out priests in the neighboring parish, Immaculate Conception, to be "unofficial chaplains" to the organization.

With the coming of Bishop John Wright (later Cardinal Wright) as the first Bishop of Worcester in the Spring of 1950, priests of Immaculate Conception were officially assigned to be chaplains to the Club. In 1961, The Rev. Peter J. Scanlon, priest of the Diocese of Worcester, was charged by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan, the second Bishop of Worcester, to establish Catholic Campus Ministry at all colleges in the diocese. That included the WPI campus. In 1969, Father Scanlon was apointed the Bishop's Vicar for Campuses and quasi-parish structures were established on all campuses within the diocese. In that same year, Father Scanlon began full-time ministry at WPI, where he still serves.

In the meantime, the Newman Club still flourishes as a student organization, while Catholic Campus Ministry carries out the parish aspects of ministry to the faculty, the students and the staff. This Worcester Model has proven such an effective ministry that it has been copied in many other dioceses throughout the United States.

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What Does Catholic Campus Ministry Do?

SUNDAY MASSES

11:30 A.M. - Alden Memorial Chapel

6:00 P.M. - Founders Hall

HOLYDAY MASSES

12:00 (Noon) and 5 P.M.

Alden Memorial Chapel

WEEKDAY MASSES

Every Tuesday and Thursday

12:00 (Noon) at Religious Center

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Every Thursday - 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

at Religious Center and one hour before Sunday masses

SACRAMENTS OF BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION

Consult with Father Scanlon

SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE

Notification must be made at least six months before the marriage.

OFFICE HOURS AT THE CENTER

Monday, Thursday, Friday-

11:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M.

Tuesday, Saturday -

by appointment only

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Caring Ministries, Liturgical Minstries, Peer Ministries, RCIA, Bible Studies, Prayer Groups, CROP, Big Brothers-Big Sisters Program