The St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois Chicago is pleased to announce Fr. Pat Marshall as the honoree for the 2026 Night of Newman, recognizing his extraordinary ministry and lasting impact on generations of UIC students.

Fr. Marshall served as chaplain of the Newman Center from 1991 to 2018. Over 27 years at UIC, he accompanied students through one of the most formative seasons of their lives, watching generation after generation wrestle with faith, ask serious questions, and come to a deeper understanding of God, the Church, and their own vocations. Through retreats, Bible studies, counseling, and daily parish life, Fr. Marshall saw young people choose to live as committed Catholics long after graduation.

For Fr. Marshall, the Newman Center was both his parish and his family. Serving at the intersection of higher education and the Church on a large public university campus, he believed deeply in making the Catholic faith visible, credible, and accessible. At the time, an estimated 60 percent of UIC’s student body identified as Catholic, leading Cardinal George to once remark that UIC was effectively the largest Catholic university in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Fr. Marshall embraced the challenge and opportunity of serving students in a secular university environment, knowing the lasting imprint a Catholic center could make during their college years.

During his tenure, Fr. Marshall helped establish several initiatives that continue to shape the Newman Center’s mission today. In 1997, he founded the Integritas Institute to address ethics in medicine, later expanding its work to business ethics and hosting conferences that brought national voices to campus. He also played a key role in developing the Catholic Studies chair at UIC, making it possible for students to receive graduation credit for Catholic studies at a public university, an important commitment given that nearly 90 percent of Catholic college students nationwide attend non-Catholic institutions. Additionally, Fr. Marshall led a vocational discernment program that met weekly and has borne remarkable fruit, including priests, religious sisters, permanent deacons, and many serving in lay ministry.

Beyond formal programs, Fr. Marshall’s ministry was marked by deep personal relationships. He celebrated hundreds of weddings for students and alumni, often traveling across the country and abroad, and later baptized many of the children from those marriages. At the height of his time at the Newman Center, he officiated as many as 40 to 50 weddings each year. Since stepping away from campus ministry, Fr. Marshall has continued to serve the Church as a pastor, and now as chaplain at The Clare retirement community, while still celebrating weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

Reflecting on being named this year’s honoree, Fr. Marshall shared that he is humbled by the recognition and grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with people from across the years and see where their lives have led. The Newman Center community looks forward to celebrating Fr. Marshall’s legacy and enduring impact at the 2026 Night of Newman.

For more information and to register for Night of Newman, please follow this link.