Kenyon’s Newman Club, one in a national network of Newman Centers focused on fostering Catholic community at universities, is being revived after a slump in activity over the past few years. While the club has no formal leadership yet, several students, including Katherine Novak ’30, have expressed interest in getting the group back on its feet. While Novak said that the revival is still in its early stages, she is “excited about getting it up and running and having more opportunities for Catholic students on campus.”

College Chaplain and Rector of Harcourt Parish the Rev. Rachel Kessler emphasized the importance of Catholic life on campus. While Harcourt Parish welcomes Catholics to attend services, some key Catholic religious components are not present in an Episcopal service. “There is a distinctive Catholic identity and things like access to sacraments and confession. Those are spiritual needs that we can’t meet. I’m not a Catholic priest — for some very obvious reasons!” Kessler said, referring to the fact that she is a woman reverend, something not permitted by the Catholic Church. She previously hosted a “Conversation on Catholic life” on Sept. 10 where Novak said Kessler first brought up reviving the Newman Club. The College Chaplains have also been working with the First-Year Experience Office to conduct surveys of incoming student interest in religious life to better connect religious communities.

“Kenyon certainly has a long history of the Newman Club. I’m an alum, and there was a very active Newman Club when I was a student here,” Kessler recalled. She cited the usual oscillating investment in student organizations as the reason the club had lost prominence in the past year or so. Because the organization is housed under the Office of Religious Life instead of being an independent student club, Kessler said reviving the group has been an easy process in terms of infrastructure.

A particular barrier to practice that was identified by Catholic students at Kenyon is accessing St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Mount Vernon without a car. While some students like Amelia Russell ’28 carpool to the church, others, like Sofia Montaño ’28, struggled to connect with the rideshares the Newman Club used to offer. Both Russell and Montaño expressed interest in the club in emails to the Collegian. “Rather than students having to independently find other Catholic students, arrange transportation to Mass or seek out faith-based activities, Newman could provide a central place to build those relationships through regular meetings, discussions, service opportunities, social events and faith formation,” Russell wrote. They both mentioned the potential for the Newman Club to connect with the community at large. Montaño wrote, “Hopefully, it would also offer a space of reflection and dialogue for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. There is a need to reckon with the fact that the Church has a heavy and dark history that historically has been swept under the rug.”

So far, the Newman Club plans to organize rides to Mass and weekly rosary meetings. “I’m just excited to get it up and running, and hopefully we can get a lot of student involvement,” Novak said.