Sam Houston State University (Catholic student center)

Welcome to the Catholic Student Center at SHSU

The official site greets visitors with the line: 'The Catholic Student Center located at Sam Houston State University is a place for Catholics to connect and dive deeper into their faith through fellowship and fun.' It frames the CSC as both a parish-away-from-home and a student-life hub for Catholic Bearkats.

Identity & Mission: Belong, Believe, Become

The Archdiocese's University Campus Ministry page and the Newman Connection listing describe the CSC's mission in three movements — Belong to a community of faith that empowers and supports growth as disciples of Christ; Believe by exploring and discovering Jesus Christ's abiding love and presence; and Become a fully formed and lifelong disciple of Christ. The ministry explicitly seeks 'to create environments where Catholic students can find community, encounter Christ in prayer and the sacraments, and be formed as disciples of Jesus,' while also evangelizing the broader academic community.

• Belong — faith community at SHSU
• Believe — encounter Christ in prayer and the sacraments
• Become — lifelong disciple formation

Staff & Leadership

The Center is staffed and led by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston's Office of Young Adult & Campus Ministry. The current Director is Simon Powell, who may be reached at [email protected] or via the office line (936) 291-2620. Powell, who served in this role from August 2022 to October 2025 according to his professional profile, is described as 'dynamic and passionate about the call for the New Evangelization,' with extensive experience designing adult catechetical programs. All general ministry inquiries go to [email protected].

• Director of Campus Ministry: Simon Powell ([email protected])
• General inquiries: [email protected]
• Office phone: (936) 291-2620

History of the SHSU CSC

The SHSU Catholic Student Center was established in 1986 as part of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston's Office of Young Adult & Campus Ministry. Its home since then has been 1310 17th Street in Huntsville, next door to St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. In the mid-2020s, after the National Eucharistic Congress, Director Simon Powell obtained permission from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo to install a permanent tabernacle in the on-campus St. Catherine Chapel so the Blessed Sacrament could be reposed there. Funded by a Scanlan Grant and parent donations, the project marked a turning point: regular Eucharistic Adoration became available on a schedule that fit student life, which Powell wrote about in his March 2025 Texas Catholic Herald column, 'Eucharistic presence finds a home in college campus ministry.'

• 1986 — CSC established under Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Office of Young Adult & Campus Ministry
• Housed at 1310 17th Street, Huntsville, TX, adjacent to St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
• Mid-2020s — permanent tabernacle installed in St. Catherine Chapel
• Funded in part by a Scanlan Grant and parent donations

Weekly Schedule of Events

The Archdiocese's published Fall 2022 schedule (representative of typical programming) shows a busy weekly rhythm that combines prayer, formation, fellowship, and meals. The CSC's open hours during the semester are Sunday 4 PM–9 PM and Monday–Thursday 10 AM–9 PM.

• Sunday — 4 PM–9 PM open hours; 5:30 PM Student Mass; Sunday Supper after
• Monday — Rosary 4:30 PM; Game & Movie Night 6:00 PM
• Tuesday — Adoration 9–11 AM at St. Thomas; Reconciliation 4:30–5:30 PM at St. Thomas; Small Group Bible Study 7 PM
• Wednesday — Rosary 4:30 PM; Lectio Divina 6:00 PM
• Thursday — Mass 6:15 PM in St. Catherine Chapel; Feed Your Faith dinner & discussion 7 PM
• Friday & Saturday — CSC closed; Saturday Reconciliation 4–5 PM at St. Thomas

Ministries & Student Groups

Programming falls into four streams: prayer (Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Lectio Divina, Adoration), formation (Men's and Women's Small Groups, Feed Your Faith discussions), fellowship (Game and Movie Nights, Sunday Supper, Halloween and Christmas parties, End-of-Year Banquet), and service (Bearkat Awakening retreat, Knights of Columbus partnership on the Right to Life March).

• Men's and Women's Small Groups
• Feed Your Faith — Dinner & Discussion
• Bearkat Awakening retreat
• Knights of Columbus (Right to Life)
• Halloween Party, Christmas Party, End-of-Year Banquet

Facility & Hours

According to the Center's Campus Labs profile, the CSC facility includes a kitchen, a chapel (St. Catherine Chapel), a game room, and multi-purpose rooms, plus Wi-Fi and a student computer. Hours during the academic year are Monday–Thursday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM and Sunday 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM (the building is closed Friday and Saturday). Hours may vary during breaks, holidays, and off-site events, so the CSC encourages students to sign up for the weekly email update.

• Chapel: St. Catherine Chapel
• Kitchen, game room, multi-purpose rooms
• Wi-Fi and student computer
• Spring/Academic hours: Mon–Thu 10 AM – 9 PM; Sun 4 PM – 9 PM

Support the CSC

The CSC's homepage features a 'Support Our Mission' call to action, noting that 'Your generous support helps us continue our mission of providing a welcoming and enriching environment for Catholic students at SHSU.' Donations can be made through the website, and a Scanlan Grant — among other donations — has helped fund major projects such as the installation of the on-campus tabernacle.

• Online giving through shsu-catholic.org
• Scanlan Grant funding received for Eucharistic presence project