About St. Thomas More Newman Center · Mankato, Minnesota
St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center is the Catholic campus ministry serving the students, faculty, and staff of Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU Mankato). Located at 1502 Warren Street just across from the MSU campus bell tower, the Newman Center — known on campus as the 'Catholic Mavs' — offers daily and Sunday Mass, reconciliation, Eucharistic adoration, Bible studies, retreats, mission trips, fellowship, and sacramental preparation through OCIA. It is a ministry of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, currently directed by Fr. Brian Mulligan, and exists to form college students in the Catholic faith during a formative season of their lives.
- Established
- 1921
- Patron
- Saint Thomas More (1478–1535), English lawyer, statesman, and martyr; patron saint of lawyers and politicians
- Rector
- Fr. Brian Mulligan (Director / Chaplain)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Why belong here
St. Thomas More is the spiritual home for Catholic Mavericks at MSU Mankato — about 5,000 Catholic students on a campus of roughly 13,000. The Newman Center makes the sacraments unusually accessible: Mass is offered most days of the week, with confession available nearly every day and Eucharistic adoration multiple days. Around those sacraments is a real student community: men's and women's Bible studies, OCIA (Becoming Catholic), FOCUS missionaries, large-group Catholic Mavs Nights, Theology on Tap, retreats, service projects, and annual pilgrimages and mission trips — all meant to ground students in faith and friendship during college.
Mass times at St. Thomas More Newman Center
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
- Sunday: 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday: 4:00 PM – 4:25 PM
- Wednesday: 11:25 AM – 11:50 AM
- Thursday: 7:15 PM – 8:05 PM
- Friday: 11:25 AM – 11:50 AM
Adoration times
- Tuesday – Thursday: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM (all-day adoration)
- Friday: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
About St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center
St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center — known on campus as the 'Catholic Mavs' — is the Catholic campus ministry serving Minnesota State University, Mankato. It is a ministry of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, directed by Fr. Brian Mulligan. Of MSU Mankato's roughly 13,000 students, about 25% are Catholic, and the Newman Center exists to walk with those students through the formative college years by offering the sacraments, sound catechesis, fellowship, service, and vocations discernment. Joe Bakken serves as Development Director and has long been a leader in campus ministry programming.
- Diocese: Winona-Rochester
- Director / Chaplain: Fr. Brian Mulligan
- Development Director: Joe Bakken
- Phone: (507) 387-4154
- Address: 1502 Warren Street, Mankato, MN 56001
- Website: catholicmavs.org
History of the Newman Center
Catholic ministry at MSU Mankato has been active since 1921. The center originally operated out of what is now the Blue Earth County Historical Society site. In 1978, under chaplain Gerald Conway, the Diocese of Winona bought a small two-story house at 1331 Warren Street and an acre of land nearby. For the next ~45 years the house served offices, meetings, and a small chapel, with all weekend Masses held in the MSU Student Union.
Building the New Center (2014–2015)
Under chaplain Tim Biren, weekly attendance grew from ~30 to 300+ and student membership reached ~900. The cramped, inaccessible 1960s house — its largest room just 12×10 feet — made a new facility a priority. After a $2.7 million capital campaign reached about 90% of its goal, a groundbreaking was held April 27, 2014. Vanman Architects & Builders Inc. designed the 12,000-square-foot building at 1502 Warren Street, which opened in early 2015, bringing offices, gatherings, and weekend liturgies under one roof for the first time.
- Architect: Vanman Architects & Builders Inc.
- Size: ~12,000 square feet
- Capital campaign: ~$2.7 million
- Groundbreaking: April 27, 2014
- Opened: early 2015
Patron Saint: St. Thomas More
The parish is named for Saint Thomas More (1478–1535), the English lawyer, statesman, author of Utopia, and Lord Chancellor of England who was martyred for refusing to accept King Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy. He is the patron saint of lawyers and politicians and is commemorated in the Roman calendar on June 22.
- Feast day: June 22
- Patronage: lawyers, politicians, civil servants
Becoming Catholic (OCIA) & Sacramental Preparation
Students who want to become Catholic or complete their initiation sacraments join the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA) at the Newman Center. Student testimonials on catholicmavs.org repeatedly mention OCIA alongside Bible study, adoration, and confession as the pillars that deepened their faith during college.
- OCIA — Becoming Catholic
- Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist for adult students
- Sacramental preparation for Catholic students
Bible Studies & Small Groups
Bible study is the backbone of the center's small-group life. Students describe men's Bible studies and other small groups as places where they were welcomed, held accountable, and led deeper into the Catholic faith. The Diocese of Winona-Rochester also supports a 'Discipleship Quads' model — micro-groups of four men or four women meeting weekly for a year — that the Newman Centers help foster.
- Men's Bible study
- Discipleship-style small groups
- Bible studies run by FOCUS missionaries
Fellowship, Retreats, and Mission Trips
Large-group fellowship events include Catholic Mavs Nights, Theology on Tap (free pizza and 1919 root beer with a guest speaker), Grill the Priest, praise and worship nights, Wednesday social events, Christmas and New Year's parties, swing dances, and an annual talent show. The Newman Center also runs retreats and annual pilgrimages and mission trips — director Joe Bakken has noted that 'pilgrimages and mission trips have been going on at the Newman Center as long as I can remember.'
- Catholic Mavs Nights
- Theology on Tap
- Grill the Priest
- Praise and worship nights
- Retreats
- Annual pilgrimages and mission trips
- Fall Kick-Off (start of each fall semester)
- Service projects and outreach
Facilities: The 1502 Warren Street Building
Opened in early 2015, the 12,000-square-foot building at 1502 Warren Street was designed to consolidate everything under one roof for the first time in the center's history. The octagonal 100-seat chapel hosts weekday Masses and small concerts, and is equipped with a Fulcrum Acoustic CX1277 coaxial loudspeaker system installed by Intermedia Systems Group of Burnsville, Minnesota.
- Octagonal 100-seat chapel
- Gathering hall
- Classroom
- Office area
- Two study rooms
- Lounge area with fireplace
- Game room with pool table, foosball table, and dartboard
- Fulcrum Acoustic sound system (CX1277 coaxial speakers + Sub115 subwoofer)
Staff
- Fr. Brian Mulligan — Director / Chaplain (Diocese of Winona-Rochester)
- Joe Bakken — Development Director (also long-time Director of Campus Ministry)
- FOCUS missionaries serving on campus
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Gerald Conway1978 (chaplain at move to Warren Street house)
Chaplain when the Diocese of Winona purchased the two-story house at 1331 Warren St. and the adjacent acre of land in 1978.
- Rev. Tim Biren2001–c. 2014/2015
Director and chaplain; oversaw massive growth in attendance from ~30 to 300+ weekly and membership to ~900 students; led the campaign to build the new 12,000-square-foot facility.
- Fr. Jason Kernc. 2015–2016
Priest at the Newman Center in the early years of the new building; oversaw addition of an 11 a.m. Sunday Mass planned for fall 2016.
- Fr. Brian Mulligancurrent
Current Director / Chaplain listed on the Diocese of Winona-Rochester Young Adult Ministry page and the parish website.