About Lamar University /Catholic Student Center · Beaumont, Texas
The Catholic Student Center at Lamar University is a Roman Catholic campus ministry in Beaumont, Texas, serving the students of Lamar University under the Diocese of Beaumont. Located at 1010 East Virginia Street, just across from campus, it functions as a 'home away from home' offering daily and Sunday Mass, Reconciliation, Bible studies, retreats, socials, and sports in a community where students can share their faith and form friendships. The Center is staffed by a diocesan Campus Minister and advised by a faculty/staff Advisor, and is run day-to-day by a student leadership team. It is one of several religious student centers lining East Virginia Street near Lamar's campus, alongside the Church of Christ Student Center, the Baptist Student Ministry, and the Wesley Methodist Student Center.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Beaumont (Roman Catholic)
Why belong here
The Catholic Student Center is the official Catholic community for Lamar University students and any Catholic in the Beaumont area who wants to worship, study, and serve alongside them. The Center celebrates daily Mass during the fall and spring semesters (Tuesday–Friday at 11:30 AM and Sunday at 6:00 PM), offers Reconciliation every Sunday before Mass or by appointment, gathers for Morning Prayer Monday–Friday at 9:00 AM, and provides free lunch after every Tuesday Mass — making it a true 'home away from home' where students share faith, build friendships, and encounter Christ through retreats, Bible studies, socials, and sports.
Mass times at Lamar University /Catholic Student Center
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sundays at 5:45 PM (before 6:00 PM Mass)
- Or upon request / by appointment
Adoration times
- First Thursday of the month, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM (per Discover Mass listing)
About the Catholic Student Center
The Catholic Student Center at Lamar University is the diocesan Catholic campus ministry serving the students of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. According to the Diocese of Beaumont, the Center 'provides sacramental, liturgical, pastoral, spiritual, social, educational and service programs for the students of Lamar University,' and acts as a 'home away from home' where students gather in community to share their faith or share lunch. Students describe it as a place 'to share faith, community and build friendships.' The student community also identifies itself as the 'Catholic Cardinals' on its Newman Connection profile.
- Affiliated with Lamar University (Beaumont, TX) and the Diocese of Beaumont
- Student community nickname: Catholic Cardinals
- Tagged by Newman Connection as a partner campus ministry
History and Catholic Life in Southeast Texas
The Center sits inside a much older Catholic story in Southeast Texas. Beaumont was served by circuit-riding priests until Rev. M. P. McSorley arrived as the first resident pastor in August 1895, and the Catholic population in the Golden Triangle grew dramatically after the Spindletop oil boom. All area Catholic parishes were transferred to the newly created Diocese of Beaumont on September 29, 1966, under its first bishop, Most Rev. Vincent Madeley Harris. By the late 1980s the diocese's history of Catholic life in the region explicitly named the Newman Center at Lamar University among its 'growing ministries,' alongside hospital chaplaincy, homebound ministry, and the permanent diaconate. Veterans of that era, like Msgr. James Dempsey — ordained in 1956 and retired from active parish assignment — kept coming to the Center to concelebrate Mass, hear confessions, and share lunch with students.
- Diocese of Beaumont erected September 29, 1966 (split from Diocese of Galveston-Houston)
- First Bishop of Beaumont: Most Rev. Vincent Madeley Harris
- Newman Center at Lamar listed as a 'growing ministry' of the diocese by the late 1980s
- Msgr. James Dempsey continued serving the Center in retirement
Student Leadership and Staff
Day-to-day leadership of the Catholic Student Center is shared between a diocesan Campus Minister, a university Advisor, and elected student officers. The Center's hub page on Lamar lists a President, Vice President, and Treasurer as the student officer team, plus an Advisor. Kelly de la Rosa is publicly identified by Newman Connection as the Campus Minister for the Diocese of Beaumont at Lamar University. The same student team page lists current officer names publicly; these are student roles that rotate each academic year.
- Kelly de la Rosa — Campus Minister (Diocese of Beaumont)
- Antoinette Mulvaney — Advisor (Lamar University hub listing)
- Victor Almazan — President (student officer)
- Clara Schreck — Vice President (student officer)
- Grace Watson — Treasurer (student officer)
Ministries and Programs
The Center's Newman Connection profile describes its programming in a single sentence: 'We provide Retreats, Bible studies, Socials, Mass, Confessions, Sports and so much more.' The Diocese of Beaumont expands that into sacramental, liturgical, pastoral, spiritual, social, educational, and service programs. A parish listing also identifies RCIA / OCIA formation (Becoming Catholic) meeting on Fridays at 5:30 PM, ongoing Faith Formation, Young Adult Ministry, and Bible studies. After every Tuesday Mass, students are invited to stay for a free lunch — a small tradition that the Center itself highlights on its homepage.
- Retreats
- Bible studies
- Socials
- Sports
- RCIA / OCIA (Becoming Catholic) — Fridays 5:30 PM
- Faith Formation
- Young Adult Ministry
- Free lunch after every Tuesday Mass
Becoming Catholic (RCIA / OCIA)
The Center hosts the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (now commonly called OCIA — the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) for any Lamar student or adult in the community who wants to explore or enter the Catholic faith. Sessions are listed as meeting on Friday evenings at 5:30 PM, with the typical rhythm of inquiry, catechesis, and sacramental preparation across the academic year culminating at the Easter Vigil.
- Friday evenings at 5:30 PM
- Open to Lamar students and adult inquirers
- Culminates in reception into the Church at the Easter Vigil
Devotions and Prayer Life
Beyond the Mass schedule, the Center maintains a daily prayer rhythm: Morning Prayer is prayed together Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM during the academic year, and a monthly Eucharistic Adoration hour is held on the first Thursday of each month from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. These complement the sacramental schedule and are the main listed devotions on the Center's public pages.
- Morning Prayer, Monday–Friday 9:00 AM
- Eucharistic Adoration, First Thursday 3:30–4:30 PM
Diocese of Beaumont
The Center is one of the ministries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, which covers nine counties in Southeast Texas and is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The diocese was created on September 29, 1966. Its cathedral church is St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont. The Diocese lists the Catholic Student Center Lamar University under its 'Campus Ministry' arm and acknowledges it as one of the diocese's growing ministries alongside family life, Hispanic ministry, youth ministry, and the permanent diaconate.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont
- Cathedral: St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, Beaumont
- Established: September 29, 1966
- Suffragan of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston