What a Catholic campus ministry offers

A Catholic campus ministry serves students at a college that is not itself Catholic. Its home is often called the Catholic center. For many Catholic students it becomes their parish, their community, and their home on campus.

A short history

According to the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter Empowered by the Spirit (1985), Catholic campus ministry in the United States “began in 1883 at the University of Wisconsin with the founding, through lay initiative, of the Melvin Club,” and “a decade later the first Newman Club was established at the University of Pennsylvania.” The clubs were named after John Henry Newman, the English theologian and educator, who was canonized in 2019.

Church law asks each diocesan bishop to “make provision that at universities, even non-Catholic ones, there are Catholic university centers which give assistance, especially spiritual assistance, to youth” (can. 813).

What campus ministry is for

Empowered by the Spirit names six aspects of campus ministry: forming the faith community, appropriating the faith, forming the Christian conscience, educating for justice, facilitating personal development, and developing leaders for the future.

What you’ll typically find

• Sacraments: Sunday and often weekday Mass, scheduled confession, and Eucharistic adoration.
• A priest chaplain and lay campus ministers for spiritual direction and conversation.
• Formation: Bible studies, small groups, OCIA (formerly RCIA) for students becoming Catholic, and talks.
• Retreats each semester.
• Service projects and mission trips.
• Community: meals, social events, and sometimes Catholic student housing.
• Missionary outreach: at some campuses, missionaries from organizations such as FOCUS or Saint Paul’s Outreach lead Bible studies and mentoring.
• Student groups such as Knights of Columbus college councils, Catholic student associations, and pro-life clubs.

How we rate Catholic life on campus

Every non-Catholic college on the Compass gets a Catholic life rating from official sources, covering ministry presence, a dedicated center, the chaplain, weekday and Sunday Mass, confession, student groups, formation programs, and whether a Catholic church is within walking distance. Mass and confession times come only from the ministry’s or parish’s own website and are labeled “Confirm with the parish.” See the methodology.

Connect before you arrive

• Find your college on the Compass and open its campus ministry link.
• Email the campus minister over the summer. Many ministries host welcome events in the first week.
• Ask your home parish priest. He may know the chaplain.

Weighing a Catholic college against a state university? Read A Catholic college or a state university?

Best Catholic campus ministries at public universities