About All Saints Catholic Newman Center · Tempe, Arizona
All Saints Catholic Newman Center is the Catholic campus ministry serving Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona, and is one of the largest and most active Newman Centers in the United States. It sits at the corner of College Avenue and University Drive, on a historic site that includes the red-brick Old St. Mary's Church (built 1903 by the Mexican, Mexican-American and Yaqui Catholics of the San Pablo community). Run as a non-territorial apostolate within the Diocese of Phoenix and directed by diocesan priests together with FOCUS missionaries, it welcomes roughly 1,500 students and nearby families each week and draws close to 1,000 worshippers to its weekend Masses.
- Established
- 1932
- Patron
- All Saints
- Rector
- Fr. Rob Clements (Pastor and Director)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Phoenix
Why belong here
All Saints offers ASU's roughly 1,500 Catholic students, plus alumni, faculty, staff, and Tempe neighbors, a true spiritual home in the middle of the city's urban core. The center pairs daily and Sunday Masses with weekly Newman Nights (talks, sung Vespers, and a free dinner), a robust FOCUS Bible-study and discipleship program, OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), retreats, socials, and a thriving music program built around a newly dedicated Peragallo pipe organ. With Spanish-language Sunday Masses, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and a record 52 sacraments-of-initiation cohort in late 2025, it is one of the most active Newman Centers in the nation and a welcoming landing place for both cradle Catholics and seekers.
Mass times at All Saints Catholic Newman Center
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday – Friday: 10:30 AM
- Sunday: 3:00 PM
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration Chapel open during regular office hours (Monday – Thursday 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM; Friday 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
- 'Christ on Campus' monthly Adoration with music, journaling, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation available
History
The Newman Center occupies one of the oldest Catholic sites in the Phoenix metro area. Mexican, Mexican-American and Yaqui Catholics of the San Pablo community built the original St. Mary's Church in 1903, designed by German-born Franciscan Fr. Severin Westhoff; it was dedicated in 1904 and celebrated its centennial in February 2003. In 1932, twenty-five Catholic students meeting in the Old Church's basement founded the Newman Club — the first religious club chartered on the Tempe Normal School (now ASU) campus. Bishop Daniel Gercke of the Diocese of Tucson formally created the All Saints Catholic Newman Center on the property in 1962. The Old Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and, after falling into disrepair and being condemned, was restored and reopened in 1980.
The 2015 Chapel and 2026 Organ
Funded by the 'Prepare Him Room' (~$6 million, completed 2004) and 'Raise These Walls' (~$500,000, completed 2012) capital campaigns, the current Newman Center chapel was dedicated on January 24, 2015 — the 111th anniversary of Old St. Mary's — by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. On April 20, 2026, Bishop Emeritus Olmsted returned to dedicate a 37-rank, ~700-pipe Peragallo pipe organ; historic pipes more than a century old were restored and incorporated alongside newly fabricated components, with the Peragallo family line connecting the instrument to St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
Clergy and Staff
Fr. Rob Clements (Pastor and Director) is a fourth-generation Arizona native and convert to Catholicism who was ordained in 1990 after studies at ASU and St. John's Seminary, Los Angeles. Fr. Aaron Qureshi ('Fr. Q') serves as Associate Director / Parochial Vicar after returning to Phoenix in 2022 from the Archdiocese of Washington. Fr. Bruce Downs, who himself became Catholic as an ASU student at the Newman Center in the early 1980s, serves as Parochial Vicar. Dcn. Wayne Rich, ordained in November 2022, and his wife Lisa co-coordinate Marriage Preparation. Lay staff include a Business Manager (Ryan Ayala), Director of Campus Ministry (Chris Tawney), Marketing Director (Elias Moreno), Director of Alumni Relations (Javi Hernandez), Sacristan/Liturgy Coordinator (Ben Power), Coordinator of OCIA (Michele Kilker), Music Coordinators (Hannah Beziou and Nathan Myers), and Administrative Assistants (Karen McNeil, Cynthia Castillo, Dominic & MaryAnne Smith).
Newman Nights and Student Life
Every Wednesday the center hosts its signature Newman Nights: 5:15 PM Mass, 5:50 PM Sung Vespers, 6:15 PM talk, and 7:15 PM free dinner — no reservations required. The weekly rhythm alternates between 'Christ on Campus' (Adoration with student leaders), 'Witness' (talks from inspiring speakers with discussion and complimentary meal), and the monthly Men's and Women's Groups that explore Christian views on masculinity, femininity, and intentional community.
FOCUS Missionaries
The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) places trained missionaries at All Saints for Bible studies, outreach events, mission trips, and one-on-one discipleship. Current missionaries include Maria Saporito (third-year, from Southern California; pursuing a Catholic Studies Masters through Mary College) and Katie Nagel (second-year, from Bellevue, WA; Boise State grad in Spanish with a Visual Art minor).
Mary College at ASU
Mary College — a satellite of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota — operates out of the Old St. Mary's Church onsite under an academic partnership with ASU. It offers Catholic Studies courses, weekly theological debates and presentations, and serves as the academic home for Catholic graduate students such as FOCUS missionaries pursuing the Catholic Studies Master's.
Sacraments and OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA) — coordinated by Michele Kilker — walks catechumens and candidates through baptism, confirmation, and First Holy Communion. The fall 2025 cohort was the largest the staff has known of, with 52 students completing the sacraments of initiation. Marriage preparation is coordinated by Deacon Wayne and Lisa Rich.
Music and Liturgy
The choir and music program, led by Music Coordinators Hannah Beziou and Nathan Myers, has grown alongside the 2026 dedication of the Peragallo pipe organ. Each pipe was individually voiced to the chapel's acoustics; the instrument now anchors liturgy at the 4:00 PM Sunday Solemn Mass and a weekly concert series, with the historic Old Church also used for candlelight Masses, concerts, weddings, and ecumenical prayer services.
Friends, Alumni, and Wider Community
Although the Newman Center's mission is directed at the ASU community rather than a territorial parish, alumni, University faculty and staff, Tempe neighbors, and Catholics from across the Valley regularly register as 'Newmanites.' The center maintains an active Alumni Relations program (led by Director of Alumni Relations Javi Hernandez) and notes alumni memories of Pope St. John Paul II passing by the front doors, daily Mass at the Danforth Chapel, Mass on the Grass, and the beloved 'sunken living room' chapel.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Severin Westhoffearly 1900s
German-born Franciscan priest, third pastor of the parish; designed and built the original St. Mary's Church (1903) without formal architectural training.
- Fr. Rob Clementscurrent pastor (ordained 1990); director at the Newman Center
Fourth-generation Arizona native, convert to Catholicism, ASU alumnus; formerly served on the Priest Placement Board, Phoenix Natural Family Planning board, and Catholic Community Foundation board.
- Fr. Aaron Qureshi ('Fr. Q')arrived 2022
Associate Director/Parochial Vicar; born in Tucson, raised in Phoenix, Brophy College Prep alumnus; ordained 2014 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception after studies at Catholic University of America and the North American College in Rome.
- Fr. Bruce Downsordained 1994; current Parochial Vicar
Born in Las Vegas in 1964; converted to Catholicism as an ASU student at the Newman Center, entered seminary in 1989 after graduating.
- Dcn. Wayne Richordained November 2022
Deacon; serves with wife Lisa in Marriage Preparation Ministry; leads men's Divine Office prayer; received into the Catholic Church in January 2008 with his family.