About Aquinas House & Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth · Hanover, New Hampshire
Aquinas House (often called "AQ") is the Catholic Campus Ministry and Student Center serving Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Located at the corner of Webster Avenue and Occom Ridge, it is the spiritual home for Catholic students (and welcomes students of any background) at the College, offering daily and Sunday Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, weekly Community Dinners, service trips, social outings, and conversations about faith and reason. The center is staffed by Dominican friars and lay ministers, and its chapel, Saint Clement Chapel, is recognized by the Diocese of Manchester as an authorized place for the celebration of Catholic marriages for current students and alumni. As one of the oldest Catholic campus ministries on an Ivy League campus, Aquinas House traces its origins to a 1924 Newman Club at nearby St. Denis Parish and today continues its founder Msgr. William Liguori Nolan's vision of a place where students are free to come, stay, and engage their faith.
- Established
- 1924
- Patron
- St. Thomas Aquinas (patron of the House's name); the chapel is dedicated to St. Clement Mary Hofbauer, CSsR
- Rector
- Fr. Timothy Danaher, O.P. (Director & Chaplain)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester (New Hampshire); sacramentally linked to Saint Denis Parish, Hanover
Why belong here
Aquinas House is a Catholic home on the Dartmouth campus where students — Catholic or not — can worship, eat, study, serve, and ask hard questions together. Daily and Sunday Mass, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and easy access to Confession are anchored by a community that gathers for a free Monday Community Dinner, regular service trips, conversations on faith and reason, and social outings. With a Dominican chaplain, a full-time lay Campus Minister, and a network of alumni whose vocations trace back to AQ, it offers a rare combination of intellectual formation, liturgical life, and warm fellowship that fits the rhythm of an Ivy League term.
Mass times at Aquinas House & Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before every Mass
- By appointment anytime
Adoration times
- Mondays 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
About Aquinas House
Aquinas House — nicknamed "AQ" — is the Catholic Campus Ministry and Student Center serving Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Located at 2 Occom Ridge at the corner of Webster Avenue and Occom Ridge, it serves as a spiritual home for Catholic students and welcomes anyone who walks through the door, Catholic or not. The center runs weekly Community Dinners on Mondays at 6:30 PM, alongside programming that "encourages students to actively engage their faith in their everyday lives." Its full-time staff includes a Dominican chaplain/director, a lay Campus Minister, and a Business Manager.
- Catholic Campus Ministry of Dartmouth College
- Located at the corner of Webster Avenue and Occom Ridge
- Office hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Phone: 603-643-2154 • Email: [email protected]
- Weekly email updates via the AQ-LIST Dartmouth listserv
History of Aquinas House
The center's roots go back to 1924, when the pastor of St. Denis Parish, Fr. John Sliney, helped Catholic faculty at Dartmouth start a Newman Club. The club faltered under his successor Fr. Francis Sliney, but a young vicar named Fr. William Liguori Nolan — later Msgr. Nolan — revived it in 1950 and grew it to roughly 200 students. In 1953 the club purchased a house at 13 Choate Road and dedicated it as Aquinas House. A new, larger Aquinas House on the present Occom Ridge site was completed and dedicated on April 29, 1962, financed in part by Cardinal Cushing and Nelson Rockefeller. Its chapel was named St. Clement Chapel, after St. Clement Mary Hofbauer, CSsR, with whom Father Bill had been ordained.
- 1924: Newman Club founded at St. Denis Parish by Fr. John Sliney
- 1950: Fr. William Liguori Nolan arrives; appointed Catholic chaplain by Bishop Matthew Brady
- 1953: First Aquinas House dedicated on December 8 at 13 Choate Road
- 1961: Land swap with Dartmouth College for the present site
- 1962: New Aquinas House dedicated April 29
- 1973: Msgr. Nolan receives honorary Dartmouth doctorate alongside Shirley MacLaine
- 1987: Msgr. Nolan retires
- 2000: Msgr. Nolan dies May 1; buried nearby
- Dominican Friars later invited to take over the chaplaincy
The Founder: Msgr. William Liguori Nolan
Msgr. William Liguori Nolan — "Father Bill" — is remembered as one of the great Catholic chaplains of the 20th century. He helped students with everything from conversions and tuition payments to unplanned pregnancies, hosted Thanksgiving meals for students who couldn't travel home, and even took calls on his home phone from his office line. He is credited with giving rise to 45 priests, one bishop, and three religious sisters during his tenure. Dartmouth recognized his work with an honorary doctorate in 1973; he retired in 1987 and died on May 1, 2000. His tombstone carries an inscription identifying him as the founder of Aquinas House.
- Ordained a Redemptorist; served as Catholic chaplain to Dartmouth from 1950
- Dartmouth honorary doctorate, 1973
- Retired 1987 for reasons of health
- Died May 1, 2000; buried near Hanover
Staff & Leadership
Aquinas House is staffed by a Dominican chaplain/director, a lay Campus Minister, and a Business Manager. Together they run the daily operations of the center, its liturgical schedule, formation programs, and outreach to students and alumni.
- Fr. Timothy Danaher, O.P. — Director & Chaplain (Dominican; ordained 2018 in Washington, D.C.; previously at St. Patrick's, Philadelphia)
- Corinne Murphy — Campus Minister (Assumption College; formerly Life Teen missionary and Ursuline Academy, Dedham)
- Anna Mlodzik — Business Manager (Saint Mary's College; M.A. Notre Dame)
Community Life & Ministries
AQ's programming is built around the rhythm of the Dartmouth term: weekly Community Dinners on Mondays, regular service trips, conversations on faith and reason, social outings, and sacramental life. Students can join the AQ-LIST listserv for periodic emails about social, service, and prayer events. The center invites students to use their home-parish gifts in choir, as Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, and ushers.
- Monday Community Dinner (6:30 PM)
- Service trips
- Faith and reason conversations
- Social events and outings
- Liturgical ministries: lectors, choir, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, ushers
- AQ-LIST email list (Dartmouth LISTSERV)
- Instagram: @aquinashouse
Sacraments at Aquinas House
Saint Clement Chapel is recognized by the Diocese of Manchester as an authorized place for the celebration of Catholic marriages for current students and alumni of Dartmouth College, with records filed with Saint Denis Parish in Hanover. Other sacraments celebrated at AQ include the Eucharist (daily and Sunday Mass), Confession (30 minutes before every Mass or by appointment), and Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays.
- Eucharist — Sunday and weekday Masses
- Confession — 30 minutes before each Mass, or by appointment
- Eucharistic Adoration — Mondays 5:30–6:30 PM
- Marriage — for Dartmouth students and alumni; records kept at Saint Denis Parish, Hanover
Supporting Aquinas House
No fees are charged at Aquinas House. The center relies on the support of alumni and friends to continue its work with students. Donations can be made online or by mailing a check payable to "Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth" to 2 Occom Ridge, Hanover, NH 03755; gifts are tax-deductible.
- Donate online via the AQ website
- Mail checks to: Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth, 2 Occom Ridge, Hanover, NH 03755
- All donations are tax-deductible
Visit & Contact
Visitors are always welcome at Aquinas House. The center notes simply: "we're always open, and we are here and happy to help in any way that we can." Office hours run Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the full weekly schedule of Masses, Confession, Adoration, and Community Dinner listed on the home page.
- Address: 2 Occom Ridge, Hanover, NH 03755
- Mailing: PO Box 147, Hanover, NH 03755
- Phone: 603-643-2154
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: dartmouthcatholic.com
- Instagram: @aquinashouse
- Office hours: Mon–Fri, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. John Sliney1924–
Pastor of St. Denis Parish; founded the Newman Club with help of Catholic Dartmouth faculty.
- Fr. Francis Slineyafter Fr. John Sliney
Brother of Fr. John Sliney; succeeded him as pastor; the Newman Club waned under his tenure.
- Msgr. William Liguori Nolan ("Father Bill")1950–1987
Founder and first director of Aquinas House; appointed Catholic chaplain to the College by Bishop Matthew Brady of Manchester; dedicated the original house on December 8, 1953; oversaw the new Aquinas House dedicated April 29, 1962; received an honorary Dartmouth doctorate in 1973; retired 1987; died May 1, 2000; buried nearby.
- Fr. John (renovation of chapel)
Oversaw renovation of the chapel.
- Fr. Brendan Buckley, O.F.M. Cap.1998–2002 (returned as director)
Previous associate chaplain who returned as director until the Dominican Friars were invited to take over the chaplaincy.
- Fr. Timothy Danaher, O.P.current
Dominican friar; current Director & Chaplain.