Newman Catholic Student Association is a recognized student organization at UW-Stevens Point.  It is open to all university students.

Blessed
John Henry Newman
Newman takes its name from Cardinal John Henry Newman, a man born in England in 1801 and died in 1890.  Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010.

Newman was a leading intellectual of his day who, after his conversion to Catholicism in 1845, became a proponent of the Catholic intellectual life.  He contended that a faith that could not withstand an inquiring, questioning mind probably wasn't of much value. 

In 1893 students at a public university in Pennsylvania, inspired by an organization already established at UW-Madison, embraced Newman as the patron of their new Catholic student organization.  The Newman name would spread to public university campuses throughout the United States, including Stevens Point where a "Newman Club" was established in 1928.

Click here to learn more about Cardinal Newman

WHO/WHAT IS NEWMAN?
Newman is a Roman Catholic parish founded to serve the Catholic students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  The parish was established by Bishop Frederick Freking of the Diocese of La Crosse in 1970.  The Catholic presence on the UW-Stevens Point campus far precedes the parish's founding, however.  The Loyola Club, the first Catholic student organization, was established in 1915; the large meeting room at the Newman Center - the Loyola Room - is named in recognition of those origins.  The Newman Club was established in 1938.

The essential reason our parish exists is to nurture and support the faith of UWSP students.  Students are parish members by virtue of their enrollment and the completion of a simple registration card.  If you' re a student who hasn't filled out one of those cards this year, you can register by sending us your name.  If you're a parent whose child is attending UWSP and would like more information about our program, please contact us as well.

Newman has other parishioners as well; we call them stationary members since they remain in place from year to year.  They choose to join our parish because they are willing to embrace our campus ministry responsibilities.  Because of the need for that commitment and because of limited space, we limit our parish membership.  We also ask our stationary members to renew their commitment to the parish every year.  If you're interested in becoming a Newman stationary member, please contact the pastor and arrange a meeting.

Newman's Lord's Day liturgies are celebrated at the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent.  Newman has worshiped in the Convent Chapel since 1972.  Most of our other programming occurs at the Newman Center, a facility adjacent to the UWSP campus that was built by stationary members in 1975 and renovated and expanded in 1994.

The portrait on this page was taken on on 16 May 2010 and includes a good representation of Newman's student and stationary members who gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the parish.  Click on the image to see "The Making of the Newman Portrait."