BROOKINGS – “Where do we want to go from here?”

That was a key question the Rev. Andrew Dickinson, a priest of the Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese serving as director of the Pope Pius XII Newman Center at South Dakota State University, put to a gathering of about 100 supporters and Catholic Jacks students on Saturday afternoon.

The group came together to talk about the growth and upcoming relocation of the Newman Center. Church officials are now in the process of finding new land for the center, which has been in its current location for 57 years.

In his eighth year as director, Dickinson serves an estimated 2,000 Catholics in an undergraduate population of about 10,000 students. Additionally, some university faculty and staff also attend services at the center.

Before addressing “future plans for going forward,” Dickinson thanked those in the audience who had given their support to the present Newman Center. He then gave a brief history of the center, which dates back to its founding in 1960. Prior to that, and beginning in 1955, the university’s Catholic students met in a basement.

Citing SDSU’s on-campus growth – seven new residence halls added during his time as director – Dickinson sees a need for the Newman Center mission to “grow with a growing campus.”

At present, staff includes the director, a secretary, a campus minister, four FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionaries, and a part-time development director at the diocese level in Sioux Falls.

Future church leaders

To meet its expanded mission, Dickinson said that by 2021 the staff should be increased by a full-time counselor, “with a Christian-Catholic perspective”; a full-time development officer, “who would keep connections with those graduates who leave SDSU and keep them connected with their life of faith” as they integrate into parishes and communities wherever they settle; and two additional FOCUS missionaries would could focus their outreach to the “Greek” community and to student athletes.

Again citing alumni, Dickinson called them “the future leaders of the church, leaders of their parishes.”

A handout at the meeting provided statistics showing the impact of the Newman Center on “Vocations for the whole Church”: More than 20 priests who are SDSU alumni are serving in Sioux Falls and surrounding local dioceses; four seminarians in the Sioux Falls Diocese and three looking to apply for seminaries this year; and more than 10 SDSU alumni serving as religious sisters and brothers.

‘Can’t do this here’

While the Newman Center – described on its website as “an embassy of the Catholic faith to the campus of SDSU, providing refuge, culture and formation for college students, faculty and staff” – has been meeting the needs of its users, the building is at times “overfull.” As for carrying out the envisioned Newman Center mission in the future, Dickinson said, “We can’t do this here.”

Addressing the brick-and-mortar expansion needed for the new envisioned mission, Dickinson said action is under way for the purchase of land near the center’s present location at Eighth Street and 14th Avenue: 44,000 square feet on five lots, enough space for the construction of “a new Newman Center for the next 50 years.”

The overarching theme of Saturday’s gathering was that “everyday students and alumni are joining together to break the mold through Catholic Campus Ministry.”

Several Catholic Jacks students shared their stories about the role the Newman Center played in their lives and faith formation.

Paul Fanta, 20, from Yankton and a sophomore majoring in biotechnology, is looking to studying for the priesthood at Saint John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.

“It all happened here, Jesus guiding me in the direction he wants me to go,” Fanta said. “God was working behind the scenes.”

Additional information about the SDSU Newman Center is found at www.catholicjacks.com.

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.