A not-so-brief history of the Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester.
The first recorded appearance of the Newman Community at the University of Rochester is in the1929 edition of the Interpress yearbook. The Newman Community today is quite different from what it was then.
In the beginning, the Newman Community was known as the Newman Club. It was not considered a full-time ministry until 1963. It was not until this time that the Newman Community had any full-time chaplains. Up until the 1950s, the Newman Community was divided between the old men's and women's campuses, with mass either at Corpus Christi or St. Anne's. Now, as a full-time parish with a full-time priest-chaplain as well as a history of full-time lay chaplains, the Newman Community uses the facilities of the Interfaith Chapel to hold on-campus masses throughout the week. This full-time parish has also been a source of community service, on-campus activism, and an endowed chair of Catholic studies for the department of Religion and Classics.
Here, a sketch will
be laid out of the Newman community from then to now. Stemming from
interviews of former chaplains and parishioners, as well as a review of old
newsletters and bulletins, a picture will be drawn here to give the reader
an idea of where the current identity of the Newman Community comes from,
as well as a picture of how the hard work and dedication of those in the past
have given us so much in terms of a place of worship and fellowship that is
undoubtedly unique.
The first Newman Club was formed in 1894 at the University of Pennsylvania.
The purpose of this club was to form a body of Catholic fellowship at
secular universities. The Newman Club at the University of Rochester
was formed in 1929, joining the other 170 already in existence by that time
in the United States.The problem that surrounded this was the traditionally
less-than-amicable attitude the Diocese of Rochester had toward the University
of Rochester. Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid (1868-1909) did not allow Catholics
to attend the University of Rochester. Although Catholic students later
could go to the University, this negative attitude on the part of the Diocese
continued well into the 1950s, as Catholic students at the University of Rochester
were "ministered" to by members of the diocese because of a fear that the
university would turn the Catholic students into atheists. Yet, with
this aside, there was certainly now an established Catholic presence on campus.
As well, Fr. Paul Tuite became chaplain in the late 1940s, and he was
arguably the first chaplain to take this club seriously. So, there was positive
leadership of the club for the Catholic students who dared to attend a secular
university such as the University of Rochester.
The Newman Club had to deal with the fact that the genders were divided between
two campuses. The men stayed on the River Campus while the women stayed
on the Prince Street campus in downtown Rochester. The Men attended
St. Anne's church on Sunday while the women attended Corpus Christi.
After mass, all the students would make a point to meet with Fr. Tuite at
St. Joseph 's House of Hospitality. His friend Fr. Jack Hedges became
chaplain in 1952. Eventually, Fr. Tuite became ill with tuberculosis,
so the1951-1952 academic year was his last with the Newman Club. He
eventually died a few years after the diagnosis. Fr. Hedges continued
Fr. Tuite's concern for the club by visiting the women's campus one afternoon
a week the men's campus one afternoon.
Interestingly, the interfaith dialogue that we take for granted today was
taking place in this early period of the community, but it was not easy. Newman
Club students had regular discussions with Hillel and the Protestant Community.
Yet, Fr. Tuite regrettably had to inform the students that the Bishop
of Rochester at this time, James E. Kearney, would not allow this dialogue
to take place. Yet, discussion continued anyway.
This precarious situation of dealing with the division of the colleges was
made much easier when the women's and men's colleges were integrated in 1954.
More effective community-building was now made possible. The University
gave Fr. Jack Hedges an office in Todd Union, which was right next to the
offices of the Hillel and Protestant Community chaplains. Although he
was still only part-time and received no support from the Diocese for his
work with the Newman Club, he would spend three or four afternoons on campus
each week. Sunday Mass was now on campus, as well. It was held
in Todd Union (and in the same room that usually had parties with beer the
night before that could still be smelled on Sunday mornings). Yet, Fr.
Hedges could not say mass at Todd because he was the pastor of a different
parish. Thus, he hired priests to come in and do the masses for him.
There were three priests who became the familiar faces for Sunday masses.
One among them was Monsignor Shannon, from the diocese. The other
two were students of the University of Rochester. One was Rev. Peter
van Breeman, a Jesuit who was studying physics at the graduate level. The
other was Rev. Cieran Ryan, who was also studying physics at the University
of Rochester at the graduate level. Actually, according to Fr. Hedges, some
of the most active people in the Newman Club had something to do with the
physics program!
The 1960s brought a great deal of change and activities to the Newman Club.
Of major importance to the club was that Father Jack Hedges was made
the first full-time chaplain, making the Newman Club the Newman Community;
now it was considered a full-time campus quasi-parish. Another important
occurrence was the acquisition of the "Newman Oratory" on Mount Hope Avenue.
The house initially cost $23,000 and needed a lot of work, but a loan
from St. Mary's Parish in downtown Rochester for $25,000 took care of the
purchase of the house and supplies for the work to be done. The house
was fixed up by Newman Community members.
This house became an important place for Newman Community members to build
bonds. The major weekly event in the oratory was the Sunday night supper.
Fifty to sixty students would either walk or drive over to the house
each Sunday night for this event. At first, the food was cooked by a
volunteer, yet after a while, the students took it upon themselves to cook
the meal each week. Non-Catholics were always invited, and they attended
quite often. Actually, the first party to celebrate the opening of the
oratory included a kosher meal in order that Jewish students could participate
in the festivities. So, even though it was a great place for Catholic
fellowship, it was certainly a place that facilitated interfaith fellowship
long before the building of the Interfaith Chapel.
The 1960s also brought the "Death of God" movement, which had ramifications
that we still feel today. Reacting to the idea of the "Death of God"
on college campuses nationwide, Hillel, the Protestant Community, and Newman
Community sponsored a campus conference entitled "Death of God." This
conference was a teach-in that featured philosophers from these three traditions,
including a rabbi from New York City, a theologian from the Colgate-Rochester
Divinity School, and a Catholic priest from New York City. This discussion
lasted the whole night it took place. This discussion led to a series
of petitions that asked the university to facilitate more religious awareness
on campus. The petitions led to the creation of an interdisciplinary
program on Religious Studies in the 1960s, which would become the Department
of Religion and Classics in the 1980s. This little-known movement, in
which Newman Community was heavily involved, led to an important department
in the university.
We think of the 1960s as the time of radical protests, yet the University
of Rochester was not as involved in these. Fr. Jack Hedges recalls,
once though, that he was involved in some sort of protest against the Eastman
Kodak Company. Yet, the university students were rather conservative,
so protests like this did not occur too often. Related to an important
event in the 1960s, mass was held the day after the assassination of John
F. Kennedy. It was in Strong Auditorium, and it was completely filled
the place. Many non-Catholics also attended the mass.
The Newman Community also hosted annual men's and women's retreats. Fr.
Jack Hedges remembered 1959 as being an outstanding year in term of the participation
for the retreats because of very good leadership from the senior class. These
retreats took entire weekends. Because of the time constraints which always
existed for college students, the attendees of these retreats displayed how
much devotion they had to their faith by taking this time out to be with one
another and God. Out of an average of 300 students in the Newman Community,
on average about 90 to 100 would go on these annual retreats.
Fundraising was very important because Fr. Jack Hedges had to support himself.
Financial appeal letters would be sent to parents, alumni, and pastors
of the students at home. The most interesting way money was earned was
through an annual auction of a Cadillac. Fr. Jack Hedges bought a used
Cadillac for about $5,000 each year and sold tickets priced at $100 each to
raffle it off. This always raised a large amount of money for the community
at the time.
While Fr. Hedges was at the Newman Community, members of the university discussed
building the Interfaith Chapel. Yet it was not until 1969, the year
after he left, that it was opened and dedicated. At this time, Fr. Jim
Lawlor took over for Fr. Hedges and stayed until 1974. Sr. Joan Sobala
also became a chaplain at this time. She was the first sister-chaplain
the community had. Now that the Interfaith Chapel existed, there was
even more opportunity for interfaith dialogue. Protestants participated
in Newman activities, including parish council and mass. There was also
much interaction between students and the different chaplains. As there
is now, there was some tension when events like Easter and Passover placed
high demand on the limited chapel space, but overall, the Interfaith Chapel
was proving itself to be a good thing for the chapel communities and the university.
Fr. Bill Lum became the priest chaplain for the Newman Community in 1975,
replacing Fr. Tom Hoctor, who was priest chaplain from 1974-1975. Sr.
Joan Sobala would move on in 1978, and Sister Sue Hoffman would take her place,
starting with the 1978-1979 academic term. Sr. Sobala would return to
the University as chaplain at the Eastman School of Music. One of the
major issues the Newman Community dealt with, beginning in 1980, was what
to do with the Newman Oratory that was acquired by the Newman Club when Fr.
Jack Hedges was priest-chaplain. The Newman House needed work, but the
financial realities of the times made it impossible for the Newman Community
to maintain this house. So, after a rather long process, the parish
council decided to dispose of the house. After many discussions, it
was proposed that the house be donated to the University of Rochester as a
start to establishing a fund for a professor of Catholic thought. Fr.
Bill Lum recalled:
"After consulting with the Diocese of Rochester and the University of Rochester,
we made an official and formal proposal. The University of Rochester
agreed not only to accept the proposal but also to take responsibility for
selling the House so that the Community would not have to do so. It
was a wonderful moment of turning loss into a wonderful gain; and it was a
gracious moment for all the people involved."
The next academic term was the first time the Newman Community had no off-campus
house in many years. But, the community adjusted. For instance,
the Sunday Night Suppers that used to be in the house turned into Tuesday
night dinners in the dining halls.
This chair of Catholic thought mentioned above has an interesting history.
Beginning with Fr. Jim Lawlor and Sr. Joan Sobala, there was talk that
the Program in Religious Studies needed more representation of Christian thought
in general. Fr. Bill Lum continued this crusade for more representation
with Sr. Sobala and then Sr. Hoffman. In 1979, Professor Estabrook was
hired for a year as a visiting professor of Catholic thought. He was
quite popular with students, and he was also an ardent and vocal critic of
university policy. At the end of his year, 1,100 students signed a petition
to keep him at the university. Yet, he had to leave. Other professors
came and went as temporary teachers on Catholic thought, but the Newman Community
thought it important that there be a permanent professor for this position.
Citing the emphasis on Judaic studies in the religious studies program,
along with a rapidly growing Catholic population on campus versus a shrinking
Jewish population in the 1980s, this chair was advocated as necessary to broaden
and balance to religious studies on campus.
The chair of Catholic thought itself was not the only concern; money for the
chair was just as important. The sale of the Newman House started a
fund to help pay for this chair. A large anonymous donation later gave
the major support for this endowment for the chair. This fund was intended
to pay for the salary of the chair of Catholic thought. Since it is
an outside source of money, there would really never be the chance of the
elimination of this chair in any period of university cutbacks. Eventually,
this work paid off in the 1990s.
Another project that took up much time was the John Henry Newman Lecture Series
on Catholic Thought and Reason. This was a periodic lecture by an expert
in some facet on Catholicism. The first one took place on February 25,
1985, by Dr. G. Dennis O'Brien, the president of the University and a member
of the Newman Community. It was on "John Henry Newman's Idea of a University"
and stories behind the beginnings of the University of Rochester. The
second lecturer was Rev. Charles Curran, on March 23, 1988. He talked
about different ways in which the Church approaches its teaching about social
justice and human sexuality. This lecture packed the Interfaith Chapel,
not only filling the sanctuary, where he gave the lecture, but also the Lower
Level, where the lecture was shown on closed-circuit television. Rev.
Richard McBrien gave the third lecture on October 3, 1988 on "Religion and
Politics in America."
Certainly the Newman Community devoted much of its time to academic interests
like the chair on Catholic thought and the lectures, yet much time throughout
this period in the 1970s and 1980s was spent on what the Newman Community
has always been devoted to: Catholic fellowship and Interfaith activities.
The Newman Community itself had a Parish Council and began to include
freshman in the fall of 1972. There existed committees for such things
as liturgy and finance. Additionally, the mass began to regularly have
clarinets, saxes, a recorder, a piano, and guitars, as well as, of course,
the choir. The number of events at the community grew, as well. An
alumnus of Newman Community, Karen Rinefierd recalled how there were "ice
skating parties, Mardi Gras, [and] a series each spring on dating, dealing
with roommates, and other interpersonal relationship issues." She also
recalled a Parish Council boycott against Farrah pants at Sibley's department
store downtown. The tradition of the night pilgrimage started around
this time. Fr. Victor Hofstetter, a Swiss Dominican who was studying
at the University of Rochester at the time, started the pilgrimage. The
first one was a walk from the river campus along Westfall Road, to Winton
and French Road, and to The Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph. There
were also Interfaith Chapel events co-sponsored by the Newman Community, such
as the Beaven Lecture and a September picnic on the river bank to welcome
students back to campus.
The current "look" of the Newman Community was formed in the 1980s. The
Newman logo was designed in the 1981-2 academic year by Fr. Bill Lum and Ray
McConnell (the Student Association's graphic artist) because that year the
individual communities began to use their own stationery instead of the chapel's.
The processional cross made of red oak was donated to the Newman Community
by the class of 1985. Jim Zavislan, a graduate student, created the
oak baptismal stand in the 1986-87 academic year. The baptismal bowl
on the stand was donated by Dr. Joel Kutz. The PA system was purchased
in 1987. Jeanette Dabinet ('83), with help by Joanne Skudder, made vestments
that Fr. Bill Lum wore at mass.
Fr. Bill Lum decided to move on. On June 26, 1990, Fr. Gary Tyman joined
Sr. Sue Hoffman as the priest-chaplain of the Newman Community. Professor
Lisa Sowle Cahill of Boston College gave the fourth John Henry Newman Lecture.
It was entitled, "Religion, Ethics, and Genetics." Her husband
belonged to the class of 1969. In the spring semester, the university
commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Interfaith Chapel. On May 8th,
the communities in the chapel and the University signed a covenant for the
mission of the Interfaith Chapel in celebration of this anniversary. A
Lenten project that Sr. Sue Hoffman facilitated for the Newman Community in
1990 raised money for Dr. Doug Stockman, who built a clinic for children in
Saywon Town, Liberia. It sponsored programs for safe drinking water,
better food, basic health care, immunization of children, and education about
health care practices. The Newman Community raised about $3,000 for
this clinic during Lent.
Unfortunately, although there were always financial worries at the Newman
Community, the situation worsened throughout the 1990s. In 1991, the
community took a drastic cut to the amount of money received by the diocese.
As well, the amount of money raised in the collection basket lessened,
which was exacerbated by the gradual decline in permanent local residents
(those members of the Newman Community who are not current students). Thus,
the annual $90,000 budget shrank to around $70,000 to $75,000 by 1999. A
part-time position of director of religious education, previously held by
Karen Rinefierd and later Larry Tuttobene, was cut. Sr. Sue Hoffman
took over the responsibilities of this job. Lastly, the position of
the full-time secretary was cut to a part-time book-keeping position.
Yet, although financial worries grew, there were still plenty of activities
to do at the Newman Community. In 1992, the Parish Council established
"Koinonia." This was promoted as an undergraduate fellowship group to
talk about current issue of life at college and what God has to do with it.
There was a retreat at the Trappist monastery in Geneseo. Professor
David O'Brien, an alumnus who received a PhD from the University of Rochester,
presented the fifth John Henry Newman Lecture on October 21, 1992 . He
was professor of history at Holy Cross. Being an election year, his topic
was entitled, "The Church and the Election: Catholics and Presidential Politics."
Additionally, the Newman Community, the Protestant Chapel Community,
and Hillel collaborated with each other for programs on AIDS, political correctness,
and interfaith dating. The chapel also came together to celebrate a
Chapel Thanksgiving party.
In April 1994, Fr. Tyman participated in a display of a portion of the Names
Project AIDS Memorial Quilt which filled the field house. This contained
800 quilt panels displayed in the field house, as well as a panel the Newman
Community used at Mass on the weekend of the display. Later, in the
fall of 1994, the hard work that the Newman Community put into getting a chair
of Catholic thought paid off. Professor Curt Cadorette became the John
Henry Newman Chair of Roman Catholic Studies. He is a priest for the
Maryknoll Order and has extensive background in Liberation Theology.
He spent much of his life in service in Peru. He also gave the sixth
John Henry Newman Lecture. There was also a three-part after-Mass series
entitled "Church, Teaching, and Human Sexuality." Maybe one of the most
influential things that happened for the Diocese as a whole around the 1994-1995
year was the implementation of the Diocesan goals reached through the lengthy
Diocesan Synod in which all the parishes of the Diocese took place.
These were, "Life long Catholic religious formation, teaching of a consistent
life-ethic, the role of women in the Church, and the development of Small
Christian Communities." The Newman Community paid close attention into
dealing directly with these, especially by forming small Christian communities
and through the Journey of Faith Program.
Another transition period took place in 1996 as for Sr. Sue Hoffman, after
20 years of service to the Newman Community, decided to move on. Joelle
LaPorte took her position in the summer of 1996 as a lay chaplain, wanting
to minister to young adults. She did a lot of work with the Social Justice
Committee. A regular activity she helped with was a biweekly trip to
"Women's Place," a shelter for battered women and their children. Students
cleaned the house and had activities with the children. The most notable
activity was a Halloween Party, which was done from 1997 to 1999. She
also served as the director of religious education, along with any of the
other duties a college chaplain would handle.
Much of the Parish Council activity afterwards dealt with the Strategic Planning
Process. This process took place across the Diocese. Its purpose
was to make certain parishes in the same region work together to combine resources
and talent because the amount of priests in the diocese has been decreasing
gradually over many years, with the number likely to futher decrease in the
future. The Diocese placed the Newman Community with parishes across
the Genesee River called "The 19th Ward/Bullshead/Corn Hill" planning team.
The 19th Ward/Bullshead/Corn Hill Planning Group is comprised of: Emmanuel
Church of the Deaf, Immaculate Conception, the Newman Community at the University
of Rochester, Roman Catholic Community of the19th Ward (Our Lady of Good Counsel,
St. Augustine and St. Monica), Sts. Peter and Paul, and the Monroe County
Jail. The first meeting of this group took place in 1998 at the Middle
Level of the Interfaith Chapel, and it included several student and PLR representatives
from the Newman Community. By the end of the Spring Semester in 1999,
this group put together a document outlining how it would work together to
share resources to implement the goals of the synod mentioned previously.
Participation in this group continued until 2004, when the decision was made
to appeal to join the Brighton planning group, which has two other local colleges
as members.
Joelle LaPorte was involved in a program in March of 1997 organized by Jody
Asbury, then the director of the Interfaith Chapel. It was entitled,
"Women Changing the Face of Religious Leadership." In November of 1998,
the Newman Community celebrated its 35th Anniversary. The community sponsored
a concert with Dean Paul Burgett as Master of Ceremonies. Many students
from the Newman Community and the university at-large performed, including
"Vocal Point," the all-female a capella group at the University of Rochester.
The Newman Community invited Bishop Mathew Clark of the Diocese of Rochester
to give the seventh John Henry Newman Lecture. His lecture focused on
his role as a pastoral leader of the Diocese. Much of this speech was
inspired by his article, "The Pastoral Exercise of Authority," in New Theology
Review of August 1997. In the Fall of 1998, Joelle LaPorte began a "Big
Newman/Little Newman" program, in which an upperclassman was paired with a
first year student. This gave the incoming students who signed up a
chance to get used to the university and the Newman Community with the help
of a friendly face.
One of the more controversial moments in the Newman Community occurred in
the Fall of 1998 when a well-known figure, Christopher Hitchens, came to the
University of Rochester. He came to the campus at the behest of the
Graduate Organizing Group to speak on a book of his entitled, The Missionary
Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. Fr. Gary Tyman read
the book himself and made sure that the Interfaith Chapel would not follow
the Department of Religion and Classics in co-sponsoring the event, believing
that the book was more of a venue to be anti-Catholic (if not anti-religion,
in general), rather than as a logical critique of Mother Teresa, and that
Catholic students on campus should not be subjected to information about this
event when in the chapel for worship. So, the chapel did not sponsor
it, and flyers for the event were not posted in the chapel.
The summer of 1999 was another period of transition. Fr. Gary Tyman
decided to move on, so in the Spring Semester of 1999, the Parish Council
started a selection process for a new priest-chaplain. Representatives
met with the council for a discussion of what the Newman Community would want
in a priest, and Joelle LaPorte facilitated different meetings with Permanent
Local Residents about what a good priest would be for the Newman Community.
The Diocese selected Fr. Brian Cool, and the Interfaith Chapel and the university
approved him. Luckily, the Newman Community received him as a full-time
priest - there were worries that because of the priest shortage that it would
only be a part-time position.
Joelle LaPorte decided later that summer that she needed to move on after
her three years of service to the Newman Community. She started a career
at Clifton Springs Hospital working in crisis prevention. The following
January, A. Joseph Tamer began a four month experiment as program director
for the Newman Community with focus on community social and service events.
In April 2000, the Newman Community hired Sr. Kathleen Wayne, RSM, as
a part-time chaplain to lead the religious education, RCIA and other educational
and spiritual programs. So, the 1999-2000 academic year gave the students
two new chaplains with which to work. This academic year saw many new
events. There was a midnight mass during advent, Tuesday night Lenten
masses, a new graduate fellowship group, and an RCIA retreat. The Parish
Council even had a night of reflection at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church,
where Fr. Brian Cool lives. Yet, such things as the Social Justice Committee,
Big Newman/Little Newman, and Koinonia remained.
During the 2000-2001 academic year, with Joe Tamer moving on, Rebecca Mabie was hired as the Newman Community program director. She interacted with students and helped plan and promote community service and social justice activities and social programs. The Big Newman/Little Newman program continued, and with funding from the Raskob Family Foundation, the Newman Community was able to hire an undergraduate intern to coordinate the program.
At the end of the 2002-2003
academic year, both Sr. Kathleen Wayne and Rebecca McMurray decided to move
on. During the summer of 2003, a new lay chaplain, William Hamant, was
hired. A program specialist was also hired, Katherine Macko, a former
University of Rochester Newman Community undergraduate. The community
was also blessed with the services of Tina McAuliffe, an intern from St. Bernard's
School of Theology and Ministry in Rochester, who helped facilitate the RCIA
process, weekly Newman Night dinners, and other community events.
The Newman Community has seen many changes in its leadership and environment,
but such things as Catholic-fellowship activities and interfaith dialogue
has always remained a constant. No matter what the Newman Community sees in
the future, these will always be basic tenets of its mission.