Catholic Campus Ministry Newsletter

Mountaintop Moments

1924 “Pop ” Owens founds the Newman C l ub a t VT

The Rise of Our Ministry

When Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College opened in 1872, the Catholic community in Blacksburg was receiving sporadic visits from the priest of St. Mary’s in Wytheville. In 1911 St. Mary’s Wytheville built a small mission chapel in downtown Blacksburg to serve the growing Catholic population of students and townspeople. In 1924 Mess Steward John Joseph "Pop" Owens of the class of 1879 founded the Newman Club at Virginia Tech. The original club started with 11 members but grew to 38 by 1927. The Newman Club became associated with the Federation of Catholic Clubs in 1932. During World War II, the ministry received its first campus minister, Rev. Conrad Marrama, while the university served as a temporary military base. In 1966 Monsignor Sadie celebrated the first Mass at War Memorial Chapel, where it is still celebrated today. Rev. George Whilcox became the Campus Minister of Newman in 1969. Since then, all priests appointed as campus ministers to the community have been assigned directly to Newman, no longer splitting time between St. Mary’s Blacksburg and the university. When diocesan borders changed in 1974, Blacksburg became part of the Diocese of Richmond. That same year, the first Sunday Supper was held at the Newman House. To best serve the growing community, the Newman Board was founded in 1983, consisting of students and members of permanent families in the community and led by Rev. Richard Mooney, a VT alum. The Board eventually transformed into what we know today as the student Servant Leader team, which continues to play a central role in running the ministry. In the late 1990s, Rev. Jim Cowles started plans for the expansion of the Newman House to meet the growing needs of students. He was succeeded by Rev. Jim Griffin who oversaw the fundraising of 1.2 million dollars for the project. In 2002 the completed construction of the house added much needed office space, a larger kitchen, a renovated chapel, and the Great Room for social events. During Rev. John Grace’s chaplaincy, the Newman community placed an even greater emphasis on service. This led to the creation of the Newman Outreach Project, which sent students on service trips during winter and spring breaks. Our ministry still sends about a hundred students on NOP trips annually. In 2013 Rev. David Sharland became the chaplain of the ministry, representing the Youth Apostles, and Chris Hitzelberger, a lay member, took on the role of Campus Minister. This brought a time of enhanced focus on liturgy and the sacraments as well as the introduction of FOCUS missionaries to the campus. Rev. Thomas Yehl, Y.A. was appointed chaplain in 2023 and continues to offer the sacraments daily. The ministry currently serves an average of 700 for Sunday Masses, 70-80 students at daily Masses, and 350 students in FOCUS bible studies. Additionally, the ministry had a record breaking number of sign ups for Fall Retreat this past academic year: 165!

1949 E l l a Russe l l beques t s her home to the mi n i s t r y

1966 F i r s t Mass at War Memor i a l Chape l ce l ebra t ed by Msgr . Sad i e

1974 F i r s t Spaghe t t i D i nner ( Sunday Supper ) a t the Newman House

2002 Expans i on to the Newman House i s comp l e t ed

2013 Youth Apos t l es beg i n mi n i s t er i ng at VT

Scan the code to read the full history compiled by Tyler Herod, Class of 2024.