stjp2newman

We are so excited to introduce you to the students who have been selected to serve on our student leadership team, the Cor Team, for the 2021-2022 school year and to have them share what they're most excited about for this upcoming year! Ella Ramos, President - UIC Senior Ella is a fourth year student on the pre-med track, majoring in Biology and double minoring in Spanish for the Health Professions and Disability and Human Development. After undergrad, she hopes to go to medical school and train to be a physician to help those in need. Whenever she has free time, [...]

Since we've had some significant staff turnover this summer, we thought it would be a good opportunity to (re)introduce our Newman Center Ministry Team for the 2021-2022 school year! Fr. Connor Danstrom, Director/Chaplain Fr. Connor has been a priest for seven years now and says that it has been “an amazing adventure so far.” He loves playing sports and writing music in my spare time, and aside from saying Mass and hearing confessions, you’ll also often find him around Newman either playing ping pong, making coffee, gardening, or skateboarding. A fun fact about Fr. Connor is that he’s not allergic to [...]

Written by Annie Streeter, UIC Senior During my freshman year orientation, I had the chance to visit the Newman Center at UIC. After being home schooled since kindergarten, it was comforting to know that there was a familiar place where I could go to meet other Catholic students. The Newman Center became the place where I went in between classes to go to Mass, attend events, study, relax, and eat meals. Over the years, the students and staff have changed, but the welcoming environment and overall mission have stayed the same. I feel extremely blessed to be at a secular school [...]

Written by Israel Lopez, Rising UIC Senior We all know that God is present in a chapel, but what about in a coffee shop?  Working as a barista, you wouldn’t think, “Oh, this is the perfect opportunity to evangelize,” yet this is exactly what the Newman Center staff had in mind when building our coffee shop. Although the unique location of this establishment, within a university’s Catholic Newman Center, brings in several customers who are indeed Catholic, our extensive marketing and personal invitation have graced us with the opportunity to meet and serve people who are all along the “faith spectrum.” [...]

Written by Fr. Connor Danstrom, Chaplain/Director Last year, Cardinal John Henry Newman was canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. This was an occasion of great joy for us here at the Newman Center, as well as throughout the country for all the Catholic campus ministries that bear his name. When he was made a Cardinal, Newman took as his motto the Latin phrase, “Cor ad cor loquitur.” His coat of arms had three hearts, representing the Trinity. This idea of God speaking to the heart of man from his own Triune heart was central to Newman’s understanding of revelation.  [...]