By Megan Erbacher, The Message editor
On Oct. 21, Bishop Joseph M. Siegel blessed and sprinkled holy water on the walls and inside the space of the Bernard G. Niehaus Newman Center on Vincennes University’s campus in Vincennes. Many students and faithful were present for the blessing, including several members of the Niehaus family.
VU’s Bernard G. Niehaus Newman Center was formerly known as the Hack and Simon Building. The building is owned by Vincennes University, but is being leased by the Diocese of Evansville, with the purpose to serve as a Newman Center.
Diocesan Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry Jeremy Goebel explained that the space is used multiple times weekly for meals, Bible studies, catechesis, movie nights, study sessions and more.
“My hope is that this Newman Center will be a place where young adults can grow in community and in faith, and where new students can come to know Jesus Christ in a personal and life-changing way,” Goebel said.
Father Caleb Scherzinger, who serves as part-time Campus Minister at VU, expressed gratitude on behalf of VU’s students and himself for the support of the Vincennes community and the Diocese of Evansville.
“An investment into our young people is an investment into the future of the Church here in Southern Indiana,” he said.
Father Scherzinger said that college is often a time when students begin to form their own identity. For many, he explained that it’s a time to take ownership of who they are as a person.
“A Newman Center on a college campus is critical in helping these students form that identity,” he said. “Specifically, within the understanding of who they are in the eyes of God. Newman Centers are the Church’s way of going out on mission into the university to meet students where they are at a time when they are actively searching. Asking the questions, ‘Who am I?’ ‘What am I created for?’ ‘Where is God calling me too?’ etc. Newman Centers are meant to be there to walk with students as they wrestle with these questions. Ultimately, helping the student embody their faith and live it out in their daily lives.”
For those at VU, Father Scherzinger said the Newman Center serves multiple purposes. With a student enrollment of roughly 2,100, and about 900 of those students living on campus, he said that the culture of VU is currently a commuter college or a “suitcase college.” He explained that means most students are on campus during the week but are gone on the weekend, meaning campus life is not as robust as a typical university.
However, he noted that the Bernard G. Niehaus Newman Center helps create a campus life for those who are seeking it. It has become a hangout for students, he said, a place where they can study or relax in-between classes.
The Newman Center is also a place where students can host social events like movie night, board game night, weekly bible studies or gatherings to discuss topics of faith.
Father Scherzinger said the main way to share the faith is through peer experience, and VU Newman’s two student-led bible studies allow students to “truly embody their faith through sharing it with others.”
Father Scherzinger also meets regularly with some students, walking with them to live a life of discipleship, so in their peer leadership they can help others become disciples as well, he explained.
“In many ways, the Newman Center has become a home away from home for students,” he said. “A place that is welcoming and they feel that they can belong.”