With those words, Father Brad Morin, director of campus ministry and of vocations for the Diocese of Portland and pastor of the Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord, welcomed Bishop James Ruggieri, the faithful, donors, workers, and others to the new Our Lady of Wisdom Church.

“This moment crowns a multi-year journey of prayer, planning, and sacrifice. What began as a dream transformed into hope and has now become a reality through the generosity of many faithful friends and benefactors,” Father Morin said. “We have built this church on the very footprint of the old Newman Center chapel. That building was beloved by generations of students who found there a place to encounter Christ and one another. Today, on that same ground, rises a new and lasting edifice, one that honors the memory of the past while opening wide the doors to the future.”

The new church, which was blessed and dedicated by Bishop Ruggieri on October 2, is part of a newly renovated and rebuilt Newman Center that also includes a sacristy, a confessional, a large gathering space, a new kitchen and pantry, meeting rooms, and offices. 

Plans to rebuild the Newman Center date to 2018 when the Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord launched a capital campaign for it and other projects. A new center was needed because the old one was deteriorating. Although it was lauded for its innovative design when it was built in 1971, the former center’s varying roof heights, numerous windows, and central courtyard proved no match for Maine winters and proved to be impractical because of its limited gathering space and a lack of separation between the church and other areas.

The rebuilding project was launched under the leadership of then-pastor Father Wilfred Labbe, but it was shepherded by Father Kyle Doustou when he became pastor, and it was then seen through to completion by Father Morin.

“I was the dreamer; Father Kyle was the doer,” said Father Labbe, who was pleased to see his dream become reality. “It’s a gift not only to this area but a gift to the diocese, a gift to the Church, and it will, for years to come, be a place of faith, growth, and vocation.”

“Today is a day of great joy for the Church in Maine, for the University of Maine, for the Parish of the Resurrection of Lord, and for all who have prayed, labored, sacrificed, and waited for this moment,” said Father Doustou, who delivered the homily during the dedication Mass. “What is this Newman Center? Not just brick and stone and wood, not just a campus resource. It is the beating heart of Christ’s body at the University of Maine.”

Some parts of the former Newman Center were renovated, but much of it was demolished and rebuilt. From the outside, the most noticeable change is the addition of a bell tower. Beneath the bell tower is a new narthex with doors leading to the church. While the former worship space had stadium seating extending down to the sanctuary, the new church is on one level with a center aisle. The sanctuary is slightly raised, with alcoves containing statues of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to the right and left of it. Romanesque in style, the church features round arches and exposed trusses. Unlike the former church, which had chairs, the new church has pews, which came from the former Notre Dame Church in Springvale. It also features 15 stained-glass windows, each with a medallion depicting one of the implements from the Passion.

“This church, built in the Romanesque style and adorned with Marian blue, the color of Our Lady and of this university, stands as a visible witness to Christ in this community. Its simplicity befits the Gospel; its beauty lifts the mind and heart to God,” said Father Morin.

At the beginning of the dedication Mass, Bishop Ruggieri was ceremonially presented with the keys to the building by Alan Hinkley, construction superintendent for the Diocesan Construction Company (DICON), the general contractor for the project.

The bishop then walked throughout the church, sprinkling holy water on the walls, the altar, and the congregation.

After the Liturgy of the Word, the congregation knelt as the Litany of Saints was sung. The bishop then prayed the Prayer of Dedication, asking God to “graciously pour forth from heaven your sanctifying power upon this church and upon this altar to make this forever a holy place with a table always prepared for the sacrifice of Christ.”

Using sacred chrism, the bishop anointed the altar and the walls of the church, asking the Lord to “sanctify this altar and this house, which by our ministry we anoint, so they may express the mystery of Christ and the Church.”

The altar and church were then incensed, after which the altar was dressed with linens and the candles lit for the first time.

“What we do here today is not merely functional, like a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony, but something mystical, something sacramental. Everything that happens in this rite is a sign of deeper realities, realities that reveal themselves first to our senses, then to our hearts, minds, and souls,” said Father Doustou. “These rites do not just make this space holy; they remind us that we ourselves have been made holy.”

Ben DiBello, campus minister, said that he believes the new Newman Center will be a tremendous gift to University of Maine students and to the Church in Maine.

“In the simplest form, just having a Catholic church that is accessible to students — just to have a church that they can walk to, that’s huge,” he said. “To have a building that represents the faith and to have a place where people can encounter real, authentic Catholic students who are trying to live out their faith the best they can, it really is a big witness.”

“It’s beautiful,” said Zach Pelletier, treasurer of Black Bear Catholic, the Catholic student government organization at UMaine. “It is a Catholic stronghold on campus, and that is something really special.”

For students like Pelletier, having a church on campus is a new experience. While the Newman Center was under construction, Mass was celebrated in the Bangor Room of the Student Union, but other opportunities to gather as a community to pray and worship were limited.

“They did a good job making the Bangor Room the best they could for it just being a room in the Union, but it’s really amazing to have an actual church and just feel the Presence here instead of in a building,” said Emerson Morris, a sophomore and secretary of Black Bear Catholic.

“This has been a long time coming, a lot of prayer and waiting for this to come. Now, it’s just incredible to have a place that we can have a home, like a home base for us to retreat to and come and just be with our friends, to share community and share life with each other,” said Cameron Dalton, a senior and president of Black Bear Catholic.

Among the advantages of the new Newman Center is the separation of the worship space from areas where students can gather to socialize, attend suppers, or sit and study. 

“I think to have a worship space first of all that’s separate from the social spaces is huge because when we do social events, it’s helpful if students want to be praying,” said DiBello. “Then, when we’re celebrating a Mass or doing adoration or something, if a student wants to be studying or doing something else, they can also have that option.”

DiBello also cited the benefits of having a large hall readily available to hold faith-enriching and community-building events.

“It allows that space to feel more like a home because this is where we come to pray and to worship God in the Mass and in adoration, and then, this is also where we come to hang out with our friends and to have dinner with all these random people, but then, this is also where I come to just study, or where I can come to just have coffee or something. It can be all of these different things,” he said.

In addition to the dedication Mass, during the first month that the Newman Center was open, it hosted a Respect Life Mass, eucharistic adoration and a dinner with the Sisters of Life, and an alumni barbecue, along with the ongoing Wednesday night suppers, Sunday brunches, and Bible study classes.

“It is so easy to do because everything’s right here. We have a full kitchen. We have a space to eat in. We have a chapel,” said DiBello. “It just feels so much more accessible and comfortable.”

Students quickly embraced the center, one of them calling it a second home.

“Being with my best friends and living the faith here, being able to come to the chapel whenever I need to, it’s unbeatable,” said Ryan Young, a senior who is president of the Students for Life chapter on campus.

“It’s nice to have a center where students can come and pray,” said Pelletier. “With Christ being truly present here, it’s something really special.”

Students stress the importance of having a strong Catholic community on campus and a place to gather.

“I think it’s pretty clear from personal experience and from the testimony of Church history that Christians need to have others to support them and to inspire them. To have those brothers and sisters whom you can come to at the end of a long day, when you’ve been sort of beaten down by the ideologies and tendencies of the world, and come to recharge in a place where people are going to encourage you to practice virtue and to love our Lord more, there’s something that is indispensable about that,” said Pelletier.

“You can’t grow in your faith isolated, especially as a young person,” said DiBello, who was active at the former Newman Center when he was a UMaine student. “There is something really fruitful about being able to live out the faith with other students, other people your age because it just feels so crazy if you’re doing it alone sometimes, and if it doesn’t feel crazy, it at least feels disheartening because you feel like you’re kind of the only one.”

Young said college hasn’t always been easy for him, but he credits the Catholic community for helping him through it.

“Being with my best friends and living the faith here, being able to come to the chapel whenever I need to, it’s unbeatable.” —Ryan Young

“I have strong relationships with my friends here. I developed more of a habit of prayer with help from the FOCUS [Fellowship of Catholic University Students] missionaries. Totus Tuus was also very big, which I was encouraged to do by Father Brad. Basically, I’ve grown a lot here. I’ve really learned how to confront adversity. It’s just a night and day change from freshman to senior year, and I can only credit that to the people here,” he said.

Young said while not having a gathering space forced members of Black Bear Catholic to be out on campus more, he thinks the new Newman Center will be an advantage for students going forward.

“People are always studying here. You can talk with them. You can have snacks, coffee, whatever. It’s just a community that has a place and has continuous activity going on, and that is really great for building relationships,” he said.

Father Doustou described the opening of the new Newman Center as a time of profound gratitude, most especially to God, the giver of every good gift, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom the church is dedicated under her title of Our Lady of Wisdom, to St. John Henry Newman, whose vision continues to inspire Catholic life at universities around the world, and to the many people who helped a dream become reality. They include Bishop Ruggieri, Bishop Emeritus Robert Deeley, the priests who guided the project, the architects and builders, and the many alumni, parishioners, friends, and students who supported it. More than 500 individual donors contributed to the project.

“People in our community and even throughout the larger state of Maine invested in this project because they believe in what the community is. They believe in what’s happening with our students who are encountering the Lord at Mass, in Bible studies, and in the community. They believe that means something. So, I think even just that witness that the building exists shows to the outside, secular side of campus how much people believe in what’s happening here,” said DiBello. “Then, ideally, when they walk in, they will encounter that beautiful, loving, faithful community as well.”