Christopher J. Paladino, president of the New Brunswick Redevelopment Corp., discusses the renovation of the former convent at St. Peter the Apostle Parish Aug. 28 at Winants Hall, New Brunswick. – Chris Donahue photo
Change of Address
Catholic Center at Rutgers to get new home
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK — The former convent at St. Peter the Apostle Parish will once again serve as an active spiritual community when the Catholic Center at Rutgers University occupies the now-vacant facility in January 2010.
Plans for the Catholic Center to move from its home on Mine Street to the convent were announced during the ministry’s welcoming reception for incoming freshmen at Winants Hall Aug. 28.
Among those who greeted the students were Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski; Richard L. McCormick, president of Rutgers; Bob Campbell, chairman of the Catholic Center Strategic Planning Committee; and Christopher J. Paladino, president of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco).
Oratorian Father Peter R. Cebulka, director of the Catholic Center, who served as master of ceremonies, said the new facility will provide much-needed additional space to serve the spiritual needs of the students as well as opportunities to socialize.
About 38 percent or 13,000 of Rutgers’ 36,000 students were baptized as Catholics, he said.
McCormick’s wife, Joan, a parishioner at St. Peter the Apostle Parish and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, helped organize the welcoming event.
In addition to overseeing the renovation of the 19th-century convent, the Strategic Planning Committee is also charged with endowing a chair for a new Catholic studies program at Rutgers, said Mrs. McCormick, who is a 1988 graduate of Rutgers.
Place of caring
In his comments, Bishop Bootkoski said campus ministry and those who serve in it hold a special place in his heart because he is a former a campus minister at Rutgers’ Newark Campus and was assistant vice president for student affairs at Seton Hall University, South Orange.
“As a priest, for almost 11 years, I worked with college kids and that kept me alive, well and very happy and challenged,” Bishop Bootkoski said.
He said the Catholic Center serves as a “home away from home” that can help make students’ time at Rutgers “a wonderful and beautiful experience.”
“We want you and your parents to feel at home in a place of caring where you can meet your brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,” he said.
McCormick said because of his family’s close ties to the church, he felt “a special closeness to this group and joy” in welcoming them to the campus.
McCormick added that the size of the student population and the geographical area of the campus make it important for each student to connect with smaller communities.
“And one of the smaller communities of which we are proudest is the Catholic Center, which serves thousands of students each year and gives you a way to bond with students who share values and life experiences,” McCormick said.
“The Catholic community, of which my wife, Joan, is a proud member, is a very important part of the fabric of Rutgers,” he added. “I have watched with pride over the past several months as plans for a new facility for the Catholic Center, the renovation of a very wonderful older facility right across the street, have been developed.”
Strong commitment
During the welcome ceremony, Father Cebulka also introduced Jesus Our Hope Sister Ellen Kraft, a new chaplain at the center. Prior to her new role, Sister Ellen served as a teacher at Immaculate Conception School, Annandale.
Freshman Jennifer Hellman of Bergen County, who attended the event with her mother, Meddy, said she appreciates the Catholic Center for not only rolling out the welcome mat but for offering a variety of opportunities to practice her faith.
“As a public school, it is important to have somewhere to go because you are surrounded by people who don’t have the same faith and might challenge it, especially when it comes to political issues,” Hellman said.
“It is important to me to have people to talk to that have the same values so I am glad it has such a strong presence here.”
Mrs. Hellman said it is reassuring for her to know her daughter will have a spiritual home in such a large environment.
“I am very, very pleased about the commitment of the diocese,” she said. “I was really surprised when I got the letter of invitation. Usually there is some sort of separation between the church and campuses. And, although it was a long drive here, getting a chance to meet the bishop shows he cares.”
During the semester, Mass is celebrated Monday through Friday at 12:15 p.m. at the Catholic Center’s St. Philip Neri Chapel. On Sundays, Mass is celebrated at Busch Student Center, noon; Cook Campus Center, 5 p.m.; and St. Peter the Apostle Church, 8 p.m.
The Catholic Center also offers eucharistic adoration and reconciliation; spiritual retreats and fellowship groups such as Youth for Christ, a charismatic group; Korean Catholic Circle; and Grad group for graduate students.
Opportunities for students to participate in community service include visiting the homeless or the elderly, tutoring children, bringing the Eucharist to the sick, serving meals at a shelter and delivering groceries for the needy.
The Catholic Center encourages and trains students to serve at Sunday Mass as lectors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, altar servers, singers, cantors and instrumentalists.
Multi-purpose facility
A groundbreaking ceremony for the renovations is scheduled for January, but interior demolition of the convent will begin in a couple weeks, said Paladino, a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Skillman.
The 16,300-square-foot facility will include a chapel, offices, library, meeting rooms, dining room, living room and kitchen, said Paladino, who also serves on the Strategic Planning Committee.
The chapel’s stained glass windows will be removed and cleaned and its floors and pews restored, he said. Also, part of the receiving hall and the main staircase will be restored.
In the future, plans call for a recreation room in the basement and two apartments for visitors on the upper floor, Paladino said.
The convent’s grass-covered courtyard will also be renovated for uses such as studying or picnics.
The new Catholic Center will also enhance the Gateway Project, which is also scheduled to begin in January, Paladino said. Gateway will be built on the block adjacent to St. Peter the Apostle Church and include the new Rutgers book store, 200 residential units, retail space and parking for 656 vehicles.
The facility will rise 295 feet above the train station and will be directly connected to the rail line platform by a pedestrian promenade. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2011.
Paladino said it is hoped the new Catholic Center will also create a “synergistic relationship between the older generation in New Brunswick and the Catholic students at Rutgers” because large gatherings could be held in the church or parish hall and parishioners could use the new facility for various ministries. The partnership, he said, would enhance the role of St. Peter’s as the “university parish.”
