August 30, 2023

New Newman Catholic Center at UMass opens, ready to welcome students

REGIONAL
Staff report

AMHERST — Almost three years to the day since the Diocese of Springfield sold the Newman Catholic Center located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst to the UMass Building Authority, the doors of the brand new,11,000 square foot Newman Catholic Center were opened Monday, Aug. 28 just in time to welcome back students.

In addition to the 324 seat Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel, the new building will also include administrative offices, lounges and meeting rooms as well as a cafe which will be open Sundays through Thursdays.

It was a long, and sometimes uncertain, path leading to this historic milestone, one marking a new chapter in the history of this campus ministry. Newman director, Father Gary Dailey, admitted there were times he wasn’t sure they would open in time for the fall semester.

“There were times I could not see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel,” Father Dailey told IObserve.

“It took great efforts on the part of a great team. Russ Sprague and Jim Morrissey were at the forefront of that team and they kept on contractors and subcontractors to get their work done in a timely manner,” he said adding that a number of delays were the result of the post Covid supply chain issues.

“But with God’s help and some determined people, we did it,” he said.

The roots of this campus ministry date back to 1929. It was then that a group of students, inspired by the late Cardinal John Newman formed the first Newman Club on the UMass campus. They saw this as an opportunity where Catholic students, faculty and staff could engage in spiritual and intellectual growth.

In 1963, with the ongoing growth of the university, the diocese purchased land on what was then the outskirts of campus and constructed the first Newman Catholic Center. For four decades, the facility, with its chapel, served as a spiritual home away from home for countless Catholic university students. At the same time the campus rapidly expanded, making the center located in a prime location.

“Having a prominent Catholic presence on campus is exactly what St. John Henry Newman envisioned. To be a refuge for students and to give them all the spiritual tools and sacraments they need on a daily basis to live their lives virtuously is so very important these days,” said Father Dailey.

In recent years, that 1963 facility showed signs of age. After a structural analysis indicated that the building would require millions of dollars in renovations, discussions were begun on how to leverage the center’s prime location while ensuring a continued presence on the Amherst campus.

Those discussions resulted on Aug. 26, 2020 in the $12.5 sale of the North Pleasant street facility to the UMass Building Authority. As part of those negotiations, the state agreed to provide, under a 99-year-lease, land across the street on Thatcher Road for the construction of a new Newman Catholic Center and rented back the North Pleasant Street facility until the new center could be constructed.

Nine months later, on May 21, 2021, Bishop William D. Byrne, joined by other Newman benefactors, staff, students and volunteers, put the first shovels in the ground. At that time Bishop Byrne told IObserve why this was such an important undertaking.

“These young people, though, aren’t our future, they’re our present. We have to make sure that we’re giving them all the tools to build friendships with each other, with our Lord, and to be great Catholics in leading our world,” said the bishop.

In order to have adequate funds to build a new facility worthy of its mission, the Newman Catholic Center undertook a national capital campaign, reaching out to former Newman students and other benefactors. That effort resulted in more than $2 million being raised.

“The response to our capital campaign was truly amazing and it was truly what gave me the impetus to move forward with greater zeal. I saw the generosity of so many people from all over the world.  To raise $2.4 million with just under 700 donors is quite remarkable,” Father Dailey said. 

Finally, this past April, Bishop Byrne blessed and consecrated the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel.  At that time, however, other sections of the new facility were still awaiting construction completion.

On August 20, Bishop Byrne returned to celebrate the final liturgy at the North Pleasant Street center’s chapel, deconsecrating it at the conclusion of the Mass.  He returned this past Sunday to bless the rest of the new Newman Catholic Center.

On Monday, Aug. 28, the new Newman Catholic Center opened for business, continuing a 94-year Catholic presence on the University of Massachusetts campus.

“The future is very bright, just like our building,” concluded Father Dailey.” “The students that have experienced the chapel and student center are in amazement and they love it so much. They are telling others to come and be part of it.  I hope that this building never grows old and we can keep it ever fresh and vibrant for our students and community members.”