Newman Center strengthens emphasis on students

The St. Thomas More Newman Center at 64 W. Lane Ave. in Columbus is “on the doorstep” of the Ohio State University (OSU) main campus. Its purpose is to serve students at OSU and other central Ohio colleges.

The emphasis has been renewed with the recent appointment of Father Adam Streitenberger, director of evangelization for the Diocese of Columbus, as executive director for the center and the assignment of Patrick McNulty, who had been working in the evangelization office, as the center’s assistant director.

The center is one of many Catholic ministries near secular campuses nationwide that are named for St. John Henry Newman, who helped bring secular higher education and the Catholic Church closer together in the 19th century in England. It has served OSU since 1946 and has been at its current location since 1971.

The Paulist Fathers had operated the center from 1956. This summer, the diocese made changes to bring the ministry closer in alignment to diocesan priorities on evangelization. The Paulists declined the diocese’s invitation to remain at the site as chaplains under diocesan direction.

Bishop Earl Fernandes announced the change not long after he was installed as bishop of Columbus on May 31. Father Streitenberger, however, said the process to have the diocese increase its involvement at the center began with Bishop Fernandes’ predecessor, Bishop Robert Brennan, now bishop of Brooklyn, New York.

“Bishop Brennan was passionate about evangelization and about forming a renewed vision for the center to make it more student-oriented,” Father Streitenberger said. “He brought in FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and increased the diocese’s support for Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO), which has been on campus for more than a decade. 

“Bishop Fernandes has a similar commitment to a culture of evangelization and vocations and to maintaining the vision Bishop Brennan had.”

FOCUS and Saint Paul’s Outreach, based in Denver and St. Paul, Minnesota respectively, share a mission of sending young missionaries to college campuses to meet students where they are, encourage them to examine their lives and show them how the Catholic Church can help bring meaning and purpose as they pursue their goals   

“We have to acknowledge that the purpose of the Newman Center is to be a student center. That’s the reason it was founded,” Father Streitenberger said. “Unfortunately, because of developments over time, that role wasn’t always clear. The center was in some ways much like a diocesan parish, serving a broader community rather than mostly students, and that blurred its founding vision.”

Announcement of the diocese’s new role at the center and the Paulists’ departure brought criticism in the secular media. The diocese responded with a statement saying that the decision was not motivated by political reasons but reflected Bishop Fernandes’ pastoral priorities of evangelization and promotion of priestly vocations. The diocese also said the bishop wants to be close to young people and keep them engaged with the mission of the Church.

The renewed vision and mission at the Newman Center are referred to as “Buckeye Catholic” and include all outreach activities to OSU from the campus ministry, SPO and FOCUS. “We are one Buckeye Catholic community on mission to proclaim Christ and to form disciples,” Father Streitenberger said. 

 “The center exists to draw students to Jesus Christ, to aid in vocational discernment and to provide training for the next generation of Christian leaders,” McNulty said. “We want to show students how to use faith resources to benefit them directly and to try to lead them in ways they need to be led during this state of their lives.”

McNulty, 26, who as assistant director will be in charge of most of the center’s day-to-day operations, is a graduate of Colorado State University and served at campus ministries there and at Iowa State University and with FOCUS before coming to Columbus in summer 2020 to work with the diocesan evangelization office.

The center’s pastoral staff also includes campus ministers Renee Lemire and Sister Loretta DeDominicis, FMA. Lemire, a Florida State University graduate, came to Columbus a month ago and was involved in campus ministry at Florida State. She also served with SPO in Boston for two years. Sister Loretta, a member of the Salesian order, was at Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School during the 2021-22 school year.

“Sister Loretta and I are working for the same purpose but have different specialties,” Lemire said. “I’ve hit the ground running and will be taking part in daily evangelization efforts including FOCUS and Bible studies students may want to set up. Sister Loretta’s work will be mainly that of a spiritual director, promoting formation experiences, especially those dealing with vocational discernment.”  

Newman Center staff members and student leaders took part in several activities when OSU’s fall academic quarter began in late August. The highlight was a Mass celebrated by Bishop Fernandes on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Other activities included the university’s involvement fair, the Buckeye Bash on the OSU Oval, a trivia night, women’s and men’s night programs, a two-day on-campus retreat, a hog roast and a pizza and game night.

Parents of students are being invited to the center’s 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Sept. 18, with a reception to follow. A wine and cheese event for alumni is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 at the center as part of OSU’s homecoming weekend.

Weekend Masses at the center are at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m., noon, 6 and 9 p.m. Sunday. Weekday Masses are at 7:30 a.m. and 5:45 p.m., with the 7:30 Mass being a recent addition for students with early classes. There is a Holy Hour with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. every weekday, with confessions at 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 30 minutes before each weekend Mass.

The center’s weekly gathering formerly known as BCAT has a new name – Ignite – but remains at 8 p.m. Tuesday. It consists of a four-week cycle of programs related to the same theme and includes prayer, fellowship and a talk about faith. 

On the second Wednesday of each month, Buckeye Catholic sponsors groups that meet at the center and are known as The Melchizedek Project for men and Avow for women. Both are designed to help young people discern their vocation in life and whether they are being called to a religious vocation.

“One of the center’s goals is to promote a vocations culture, that is, a culture designed to help answer the questions of ‘How am I going to serve God?’ and ‘How am I going to serve my neighbor?’” McNulty said. 

“For most people, the answer to that question involves marriage and family life, but on a campus as large as Ohio State’s, there are many students whom God has called to the religious life who just need to be exposed to that possibility.

“We want to provide the resources so that when students ask that question, they know where to go and how to discern so they can hear God’s call to choose whatever path is best for them,” he said.

“A lot of great things are happening under the roof of the Newman Center and the umbrella of Buckeye Catholic,” Father Streitenberger added.  

The center also is continuing its popular Buckeye Awakening retreats, which take place twice a year at the Damascus Catholic Mission Campus in Knox County. The next retreat, the 25th in the series, will take place Friday to Sunday, Oct. 6 to 8. 

Speakers will include Father Streitenberger and members of the Newman Center and Damascus staffs; Father William Hahn, diocesan vocations director; and Dominican friars from St. Patrick’s Priory in Columbus. The event is for students from OSU and all other central Ohio colleges.

Buckeye Catholic also sponsors Bible studies, men’s and women’s groups throughout the week, and RCIA classes, for people considering joining the Catholic Church, on Thursdays. FOCUS missionaries lead and form students to run Bible studies. SPO provides men’s and women’s formation, organizes student households and sponsors an annual retreat at Damascus called Fan in the Flame, McNulty said.  

Future activities will be added to the center’s calendar. For more information about the Newman Center, go to www.buckeyecatholic.com or call (614) 291-4674.