UCatholic Campus Ministry, one of UM’s largest religious organizations on campus, has moved into a new building that had previously housed United Wesley, a Christian group on campus.
On Aug. 20, UCatholic held a Mass and event celebrating the inauguration of its new Catholic student center on campus. During the event, students celebrated Mass and enjoyed Cuban cuisine, marking the culmination of a years-long effort to find a more suitable on-campus home for the student organization.
Located on 1210 Stanford Drive, across the road from the Mahoney Pearson residential colleges, the new building is a significant upgrade from where they previously resided.
“It’s a big difference from what we used to have, which was just a room behind the bookstore,” said Leo Morales, president of UCatholic.
Morales went on to explain that the old building was formerly the campus post office, but had been given to UCatholic temporarily while they searched for a new home.
“It’s a world of a difference having this new center…we can host a lot more people and we can invite a lot more people,” Morales said.
The new building is two stories with the first floor containing four main areas: a chapel, a room for dining and large Mass celebrations, a game room complete with ping pong and foosball tables, and a series of offices. The second floor will be used as housing for graduate students.
The center had previously belonged to United Wesley, the Methodist student organization on campus.
“Dr. Pat Whitely was working with Father Vigoa…to get the building, but they wanted to be respectful of United Wesley… when the opportunity arose, UCatholic bought the property with the approval of the University,” Morales explained.
In addition to being a more spacious area, the new building also ushers in a new era of visibility for Catholic students on campus.
“It’s also very visible because the old room you can’t even see it… you could walk around for at least a year here and have no idea where the old center was.”
He noticed that this increase in visibility has already been paying dividends.
“We’ve been seeing the results too, the first Mass and meal there were 60 or 70 students! Last year we only had maybe 20 or 30.”
Even with the increase in attendance, Morales has larger ambitions for the new student center and wants it to have an impact on all the students on campus, not just the Catholic ones.
“Having this place where you can relax and study or spend time with friends is a great thing, not just for Catholics, but for everyone because that’s who it’s for: everyone,” said Morales
“This home is not just ours, it’s everyone’s, and that’s what I want them to know.”