PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY STUDY
Dear friends of St. Paul’s, St. Paul Catholic Center has served as a beacon of faith on campus and a sanctuary and refuge for IU students since 1969. Since the day St. Paul’s opened its doors, the work of the Holy Spirit in our community has made it possible for tens of thousands of young men and women to transform their hearts, minds, and souls to deeper faith, greater virtue, and zeal for the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. From the start, our parish has served as a parish for students and Bloomington residents, which creates a diverse and faithful community while providing wonderful opportunities for everyone to build relationships across generations and experiences. About a decade ago, our parish leadership, recognizing the high rates of religious disaffiliation among college students, began the process of recommitting to campus ministry and of aligning our priorities on outreach and evangelization to our students. Since then, our campus ministry programs and student participation have significantly increased. Such has been the increase that some of our incoming students report to us that they chose Indiana University because of our Newman Center. This energy, excitement and momentum continue to fuel our campus ministry and inspire our resident parishioners. As our campus ministry has grown, we have also come to realize the limitations and needs of our facilities. We are embarking on this feasibility study to understand our capacity to beautify and renovate the interior of our church, to renovate our parish offices and rectory, and to establish a new endowment for our Campus Ministry that ensures the long-term viability and success of our Newman Center. A beautiful church will serve as a welcoming beacon to all on campus. Updated offices will make it easier for our students and parishioners to engage our staff and for our staff to work with each other. Simple renovations to the rectory will improve the community life of our five Dominican friars and provide room for further expansion of their community in the future. We hope you will join us in making St. Paul’s a sacred space and in ensuring our future. Your support makes it possible for us to lead more souls to Christ and to build up the kingdom of God on the campus of Indiana University. Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Patrick Hyde, O.P., VF | Pastor
Our History Catholic campus ministry began in Bloomington in 1928 with a Newman Club, housed at St. Charles Borromeo. By the 1960s, the Archdiocese recognized the need for larger facilities closer to campus and relocated the ministry to 17th street to the newly constructed parish of St. Paul in 1969. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, St. Paul’s embarked on its first capital campaign in the early 1990s. The $1.2 million project was completed and dedicated in 1993. The two major aspects of this project were the addition of the Gathering Space and main parish offices and a redesigned Church, particularly the sanctuary. With the growing demands of the parish, the Archdiocese invited the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great to begin ministry to the campus and parish in 2005. Recently, as the needs of our campus ministry have grown, we have adjusted our staff to meet the needs. In 2016, our campus ministry staff consisted of a part-time priest and an intern. In 2017, we welcomed five FOCUS missionaries to our staff. Since then, our campus ministry staff has grown to include all of our priests. This year, we created two new positions, a full-time Director of Campus Ministry and a part-time mental health counselor, to continue to grow the Catholic presence on campus and bring students closer to the Lord, all the while integrating them with their spiritual development in Christ. With increases in students served, St. Paul’s also invested in renovations, completed in 2020, to the lower level. These improvements added more meeting spaces for students as well as an updated kitchen and parish hall, allowing ministry to happen in a space that suits the needs of our community today.
Our Home
Entrusted from the beginning with the spiritual and pastoral care of IU students, St. Paul’s prioritizes its Campus Ministry programming while also serving as the spiritual home to over 700 Bloomington residents. What started as a student club is now a thriving campus ministry and parish serving thousands of Indiana University students and hundreds of local families. Welcome Home, Hoosier Catholics!
BY THE NUMBERS who 270+ students regularly
participated in a Bible Study group last year
14
of 20 hours Eucharistic Adoration offered weekly
served 2,000 students annually of 10 hours Confession 15
men and women who have entered religious life or offered weekly the seminary Dominican in the past 7 priests who years serve the parish
5
avg. students becoming Catholic annually
Rising to the Challenge Campus Ministry is the primary apostolate of St. Paul’s. By working tirelessly to establish a culture of personal encounter, build authentic friendships, and be a community of prayer where the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession, are easily accessible, St. Paul’s has experienced significant growth to students on campus: • More than 50 students attend daily Mass and more than 600 students attend Sunday Mass each week. • The number of students who are becoming Catholic has also increased. Recently, we have averaged more than 15 new Catholics each year. • Five FOCUS missionaries reach hundreds of Indiana University students. • Over 100 students participate in both the fall and spring Hoosier Awakening retreat. • Dozens of students are engaged in various service projects and mission trips. • Each Sunday, more than 200 students attend a free Sunday Supper after the 5:30 p.m. Mass. • The new “Hoosiers Home Away from Home” program connects IU students with resident parishioners into their homes in a spiritual mentoring and a welcoming environment to the Bloomington community. St. Paul Catholic Center is committed to building and enhancing the Catholic community on the campus of Indiana University and to bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every student through personal relationships and hospitality.
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The Vision
t. Paul’s has and will continue to serve as a beacon of Christ’s love on the campus of Indiana University and a sanctuary of faith, friendship, and prayer. As our facilities age and our programmatic needs grow, we need to plan for the future to ensure the continued growth in mission for our students on campus. Therefore, we are embarking upon a feasibility study to evaluate our capacity to move forward with a capital campaign. The preliminary goal for this campaign is $10-$12 million, but is dependent upon the results of this feasibility study.
With the support of our St. Paul’s community, we believe that these capital improvements will allow for greater reach on campus, inviting students into ministries and facilities that are equipped to serve them and help them grow in their relationships with Christ. A successful capital campaign and renewed physical space will provide a beautiful place to worship and an even more dynamic home for Hoosier Catholics and our local community that will lead us into the next generation. At this preliminary stage, the four project areas would include:
Church Renovations & Upgrades The current church was opened in 1969 and renovated in 1993. As part of the 1993 project, a Gathering Space and parish offices were added. Other than some minor changes and updates, the church and its furnishings have been almost entirely unchanged since 1993 with some of the infrastructure dating back to 1969. Needed updates include: • Redesigning the sanctuary to have a fixed altar and ambo made of noble materials, in order to express the dignity and importance of the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. Current furnishings are wearing out and do not conform to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Replacing and redesigning sanctuary furnishings will allow for a beautiful, functional worship space. • Adding two confessionals for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Our priests presently hear more than nine hours of Confessions weekly and are without suitable confessional space. • Creating a permanent home for the baptismal font and a proper baptistry. • Replacing dilapidated carpeting with new tile flooring. • Replacing the pews, which are beyond their life span. • Replacing the ceiling to remove the drop ceiling. • Replacing the antiquated lighting, electrical, and sound systems. • Sealing the window casings, allowing for efficient heating and cooling.
Gathering Space, Offices & Outdoors Having remained mostly unchanged since the 1993 updates, renovating the Gathering Space, offices, and adjacent outdoor space would include: • Replacing the rusting and failing main doors leading into the Gathering Space. • Expanding and redesigning parish offices to create common work spaces, as opposed to being scattered throughout the building. • Intentionally setting aside current lower level offices for Campus Ministry staff, to be near the Student Lounge. • Redesigning the Gathering Space to make it more comfortable and welcoming • Adding a new plaza and Marian grotto along the south side of the building.
Rectory Built the same time as the Church in 1969, the rectory is also in need of structural updates and repairs: • Remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms which are in disrepair. • Renovating the bedrooms and living spaces to create a space more conducive to the community life of the Dominican Friars.
Campus Ministry Endowment The long-term funding of our Campus Ministry program is critical to our mission. Establishing an endowment will allow St. Paul’s to build in a perpetual income stream for our primary apostolate. Individually, each of us make a significant impact on the spiritual quality of life at St. Paul Catholic Center. By working together, we have the privilege and opportunity to make an even greater impact on campus, in the Bloomington community, and the world.
Will you join us?
Mission Statement St. Paul Catholic Center serves as the Newman Center and Catholic parish for the Indiana University community. We bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, celebrate the Sacraments, foster spiritual formation, evangelize, and serve those in need.
Vision Statement To be a parish focused on student ministry that welcomes, invites and forms all as we create a community of missionary disciples.
1413 E 17th St Bloomington, IN 47408 812.339.5561 info@hoosiercatholic.org www.hoosiercatholic.org