Campus Ministry

St. Lawrence Catholic Parish and Newman Center is dedicated to serving the students and staff at the University of Minnesota and the surrounding colleges. We recognize this is a significant time in the lives of students, as they seek knowledge and direction in their lives. It is a time to question old understandings and explore new insights. So we share the same mission as the university, namely to help students seek wisdom and truth.

As part of the Catholic Church, we believe that truth is ultimately found through the author of truth, Jesus Christ. All of creation is made in and through Him. The gifts of faith, intellect, and tradition all help us to find meaning, purpose, and our destiny.

We at St. Lawrence-Newman therefore try to provide a rich Catholic environment for students to question, challenge, support, explore, and grow together as community. In particular, we use a peer ministry model, where students minister to each other, helping each other grow in their faith. It is in the process of dialoguing, exploring, pondering, and sharing faith, that one truly comes to understand and own the Catholic faith. Simple book answers by some book or human authority figure no longer is sufficient.

To help students grow in faith and maturity, we provide a rich gamut of campus ministry activities. If there is an activity missing you would like to see happen, please let our Peer Student Ministers (peers@umncatholic.org) or the staff know.

It is beautiful when Catholics take ownership of their faith and try to live it out as the Holy Spirit guides them.  We cannot do everything and are blest to have some adjunct groups also providing ministry to students.