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About Us
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St. Paul Catholic Center Mission and Vision
Parish Mission Statement:
St. Paul Catholic Center serves as the Newman Center and Catholic parish for the Indiana University community. We bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, celebrate the Sacraments, foster spiritual formation, evangelize, and serve those in need.
Parish Vision Statement:
To be a parish focused on student ministry that welcomes, invites and forms all as we create a community of missionary disciples.
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The Newman Center and Parish at Indiana University: Our HistoryThe facilities at Dunn Street were sorely inadequate, and in 1967, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis appointed Fr. James Higgins to direct the construction of a new building on the recently purchased 2.85 acres of land on 17th Street. Then-IU President Herman B Wells had conceived of a corridor of Greek houses and religious groups in the northeast quadrant of campus on North Jordan Avenue. The new Catholic church was dedicated on Jan. 12, 1969, and established as the parish of St. Paul. Fr. James Higgins was the first pastor/director of the center. He served here until 1983.
The forerunner of St. Paul Catholic Center was a Newman Club established in 1928 by Fr. Paul Deery, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church. At the time, St. Charles School and Church were located in a building at 3rd and Dunn streets, adjacent to Indiana University, and more than 200 students were affiliated with the club.
After St. Charles relocated to its present facility on East Third Street in 1952, the Newman Club continued to use the old school building. Fr. Victor Wright, an Englishman, was assigned as the chaplain to the Newman Ministry in 1958.
Msgr. Higgins was a major figure on campus as well as in Bloomington. He was well acquainted with the athletic coaches and was known to have a seat directly behind the team at basketball games. He was awarded an IU honorary doctorate for his tireless work in May 1989. Serving with Msgr Higgins was Mary Ann Stephens, whose career at St. Paul spanned 23 years, until 1992.
A new chapter began at St. Paul when two young priests, Fr. Bob Sims and Fr. Kim Wolf, were assigned to the center. Beginning in 1991, they oversaw a $1.2-million renovation that provided church access without stairs and a new sanctuary area, reconfigured the church entrance, and provided offices in the new Gathering Space area. The space was dedicated in 1993, the 25th anniversary of the center. Also during these years a Parish Pastoral Council was created, a mission statement was crafted, and a development office was inaugurated.
In 1994, Fr. Dan Atkins was named pastor, a position he held until 2005. A lay campus minister, Mark Erdosy, was hired in 1995. He was succeeded by Conor McIntyre in 2003. Throughout the 40 years of the center’s ministry there have been religious women on the pastoral staff: Sr. Luke Thomas, SP; Sr. Mary Maloney, SP; Sr. Mary Montgomery, SP; Sr. Concetta Fabo, OSF; and Sr. Kim Mandelkow, OSB.
With the growing demands of the parish, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis invited the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great to succeed the archdiocesan priests at the Center in 2005. Three Dominican priests joined the staff that July: Fr. Robert Keller, OP; Fr. Stan Drongowski, OP; and Fr. Rich Litzau, OP. Currently serving as pastor is Fr. Patrick Hyde, OP, with two associate pastors, Fr. Dennis Woerter, OP, and Fr. Reginald Wolford, OP. We have been blessed with several Dominican students who have spent a year in service at St. Paul as part of their formation.