Fare thee well

J.D. Long-Garía/CATHOLIC SUN

The All Saints Newman Center community as well as the old church are reflected in the chalice, held by Dominican Father Emmerich Vogt, prior provincial, during the consecration. The Mass celebrated the Dominicans' 40-year ministry at the Arizona State University.

ASU Newman Center honors ‘Dominicans through the Decades’

Dozens of friends and supporters gathered April 14-15 at the chapel in the heart of ASU’s Tempe campus for a look back at the Dominican’s history of vibrant preaching, lively Masses and legacy of challenging students to live the Gospel.

For years, the Newman Center has hosted outdoor liturgies dubbed “Mass on the Grass,” drawing students into a closer walk with Christ.

The April 15 Mass brought together old friends for an evening of prayer and celebration. It also reunited music directors and choir members from over the years for a last hurrah with the Dominicans. Many of them pointed to their years at the Newman Center as the springboard to their current music ministry around the state and beyond.

With well-known artists such as Tom Booth, Jaime Cortez, Paul Hillebrand, Tim and Julie Smith, Brian Judd and Tom and Dave Burba on hand to share their musical gifts, it was a definite crowd-pleaser.

After the Mass, concelebrated by 12 Dominican priests — Fr. Roberto Corral, OP, sang in the choir — those gathered enjoyed a potluck feast, then headed inside to hear stories from the friars who have ministered at the Newman Center since 1969.

Decked out in their traditional white habits, black rosary beads looped about their waists, the priests sat in a long row of folding chairs, faced the crowd, and reflected on the challenges and joys of their Newman Center years. 

RELATED BLOG: Assignment notes: 'Spiritual residue'

Fr. David Geib, OP, said the Dominicans first ministered at the Newman Center located near the University of Arizona in Tucson. Their service there was at the invitation of Bishop Francis J. Green, who had met the Midwestern provincial of the order. The bishop, said Fr. Geib, knew that without a Catholic college in the state of Arizona, strong Newman Centers were a necessity.

The Dominicans’ work at the U of A Newman Center was so successful, according to Fr. Geib, they were asked to come to Tempe.  

The impending departure of the Dominicans from the Tempe Newman Center this year has upset some, but Fr. Geib pointed out that he had a unique perspective on the situation — a parable of sorts that might prove helpful. 

Ironically, he said, some of the ASU students in 1969 were not pleased at the Dominicans’ arrival at the Newman Center and the departure of diocesan priests. They protested in front of Our Lady of Mount Carmel when Bishop Green came to celebrate confirmation.

One of the students, John Coles, told Fr. Geib, “We didn’t want you to come, but we will try to do our best to make it work.” That attitude, Fr. Geib said, was a good approach to the current situation.

Fr. Albert Felice-Pace, OP, who served at the Newman Center in the late 1980s, said he remembers his years there with joy.

“Those six years were wonderful,” he said, “they were happy days.” One of his proudest accomplishments, he added, was enlarging the worship space so that more people could participate in the Masses. He also added handicapped access to the chapel and cafeteria.

During Fr. Felice-Pace’s tenure, the community voted 750 to 25 in favor of a proposal to declare themselves a sanctuary for those fleeing the violence in Central America. The decision made headlines and focused attention on the plight of innocent victims of the upheaval in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

“What a privilege we had for 40 years to preach the Gospel to those who make this their community,” he said.

Fr. Tom DeMan, OP, remembered instituting the tradition of the Good Friday prayer hike up the nearby “A” Mountain. Students still carry a large wooden cross up the Tempe mountain while praying the Stations of the Cross.

One year, he awoke on Holy Saturday to find that the cross —which was left atop the mountain — had been thrown through the plate-glass window at the front of the Newman Center.

The man involved in the incident had been hanging around the Newman Center for some time. “He made my life hell,” Fr. DeMan said. Yet a few years later, the man tracked down the priest in Tucson and apologized for the vandalism.

“Healing is always possible,” Fr. DeMan said. “Even with the person we think is the enemy.”

Fr. Denis Reilly, OP, who directed the Newman Center from 1985-1991, spoke glowingly of his two associate pastors, Dominican Fathers Roberto Corral and Tom Kraft, who has since died of cancer.

Fr. Kraft was an “incredibly prayerful person, a Pied Piper,” Fr. Reilly said. He described Fr. Corral as a charismatic priest who reached out to the students and had clever props — including a basketball on one occasion — for his homilies.

Bob Mulhern, who was active at the Newman Center during the late 1970s and early 1980s, had humorous memories of his years there, including working as a janitor under Fr. Tom DeMan.

The priest asked Mulhern and a friend if they would paint one of the outside walls of the chapel for $100. Mulhern and his buddy bought the paint and spent the afternoon working on the project. When they began to run short on paint, they decided to start thinning — at first just a little, then some more.

As they finished the job, it began to rain and their creative solution revealed itself as none too clever.

“Father came out, saw what we had done and told us, ‘Go and thin no more,’” Mulhern said. The audience howled with laughter.

Tom Booth, whose music is often featured on Immaculate Heart Radio, said he first came to the Newman Center as a long-haired young man in cut-offs. “And you know what?” he said. “They welcomed me.”

Jaime Cortez put his arm around Booth after one song and said, “He taught me everything I know…my life changed drastically when I came here.”

Booth agreed. “One thing the Dominicans taught me is that it’s not about us, it’s about God. We’ll turn to the Lord and thank Him for the hope and truth we all discovered here.”

Julie Smith commented on how welcome she felt at the Newman Center when she first arrived as a student in 1978.

Just before performing a song with her husband, Tim, whom she met at the Tempe church, and their five children, Julie explained how she became a musician at the Newman Center.

“I had just come out here from Minnesota and was sitting in the back near one of the pillars at Mass,” Julie said. “Fr. Tom DeMan came up to me and said, ‘I heard you sing. Why don’t you go up and sing with our music ministry tonight?’ It was a very significant moment in my life.”

Tim said he loved hearing about everyone’s memories of the Newman Center but that “the future of the Newman Center is bright. It’s always good to look back, but let’s look to the future. The children,” he said, indicating his own as well as those of the Cortez and other families, “will carry on.”