A welcome back to the college campus – and the Catholic home away from home (Back to school)
Louis Nicastro, Catholic Campus Minister for the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University – Newark Campus, was asked to define “the Catholic community away from home.”
“It provides almost like a spiritual safety net for these students who really are independent for the first time,” Nicastro said. “It is a solution to possible loneliness they may feel in their dorm rooms or their apartments, that they could have someone they could socialize with but also pray with alongside. It is a familiarity with your fellow Catholics whom you have so much in common with, and from that familiarity, you make a friendship with that fellow student.”
Nicole “Ducky” Nowak, a junior at Ramapo College of New Jersey in Mahwah, “lives” Nicastro’s definition. She said, “I feel so much less alone as a Catholic on campus. I’ve been seeking community and the ability to incorporate the Lord more into my daily life, and I feel so supported by this community even though I just joined. I have received a lot of hostility in even other Christian circles because I’m Catholic, so it is nice to have a safe space where I can talk with fellow young people about our faith.”
As the fall semester arrives, Jersey Catholic spoke with Catholic Campus Ministers and both returning and first-time students at various colleges and universities about what is offered to aid the surety of practicing the Catholic faith in the world of a maturing young adult away from home.
Brooke Pasker has been Campus Minister at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken since November 2023. Originally from Iowa, she majored in Social Work and Spanish and minored in Religious Studies in college.
Pasker said, “I grew up Catholic, but I had a really powerful encounter with Jesus in college, and I know that it is a really transformative time for students. They are asking the big questions about God and, their life, and their purpose. I had really fantastic people walking with and informing me during that time, so it’s a privilege to be able to walk with other young adults as they’re asking those same questions.”
Luke McKenna is a third-year student at the school. When he joined Newman Catholic, he was seeking a group of people to attend Sunday Mass with. For him, it has become much more.
McKenna said, “I was in a new city and totally alone, and the campus ministry satisfied that need. In a sense, though, that is still the void they fill now. Through Newman Catholic, Jesus strengthens me to face all the trials of college and city life and allows me to commune with Him and with others. Simply put, I get to run towards Heaven alongside my friends.”
Pasker, whose ministry has seven student leaders and about 20 members, will spend the next few weeks meeting with students and her fellow Archdiocese of Newark campus ministers regarding collaboration and hosting intercollegiate events.
She said, “A lot of students across our campuses like to go hiking, so we’re looking at ways that we can get a group to go to one of the parks in New Jersey, go hiking, and maybe have Mass together.”
She does have her challenges. Pasker said, “I’m battling for the student’s time. A lot of them have internships or part-time jobs on top of their school load. I understand they’re here to study, but Jesus is here also. We want to make him the center. We want to make him the priority, of course, while still prioritizing school. So, that’s the challenge: helping them find time to attend things that are going to benefit their spiritual life, but also not take away too much time from studies.”
Father Jaroslaw Zaniewski has served as Chaplain at Stevens Institute of Technology and Ramapo College since 2023. Father Zaniewski said, “It is kind in line what Saint John Bosco used to say to his followers,’It is not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved.’ So, making love tangible, it has to be rooted in Chris and the Blessed Mother, and developing a meaningful relationship myself with Our Lord and My Lady, and then cultivating or encouraging that in them (the students).”
About Father Zaniewski, Pasker said, “He is fantastic, is on campus two or three days a week, and he provides the sacraments for our Newman group, celebrates Mass, and then offers the Sacrament of Confession during Adoration. He also makes himself available for spiritual guidance during these times. I know the students really enjoy his homilies, and I think they look to him as someone with experience and wisdom. And he loves hiking, so he’s taken them on a few hikes. I think he sets a really good example for incorporating your spiritual life with your hobbies.”
The primary event for community building, fellowship, and faith formation is the weekly Newman Night, and past events have included Advent wreath making, game nights, a Saints Showcase, and a special get-together invitation to the on-campus Christian fellowship group.
Pasker said, “We’re trying to do some more collaboration with them as well, since obviously we have a lot in common. We also have a weekly bible study as a way to grow knowledge of the Word of God. There’s a men’s group that meets consistently, and the women’s group has been on a little hiatus, so I’m excited to start that up this year. Just to have a place to discuss maybe the unique challenges and opportunities for each gender. Growth and virtue might look different for men than it does for women. What does authentic masculinity look like, and for females, what does it look like to be a woman with Mary as your model?”
Pasker, whose ministry also does one retreat each semester for the last several years, has gone to the Appalachian region of Kentucky to do home repairs. She said, “We start every day with Mass, and then we go to our work sites. Last year, there were a couple of students who only knew one or two other people in the group, but they finished the week as friends with everyone in the group. Just to see the students grow as friends and to know that they’re being tested by their interactions with the less fortunate that we were serving – to see those things was a real highlight of the trip for me. And, I did not have to control those interactions; I was just able to coordinate the trip, and just let the Holy Spirit be in control, and kind of facilitate the opportunity for an encounter with Jesus.”
Amanda LaFrancois is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. She said, “Stevens Campus Ministry gave me the chance to take on my faith as my own. Going off to college can be a tremulous time in one’s faith as you are most likely practicing for the first time without your parents there ensuring you are going to Mass. The Newman community was so warm and welcoming and has been a great support system for my years at Stevens. I was originally just seeking a group to go to Mass with, but I ended up with an amazing group of friends who inspire me every day to walk in my faith.”
Sebastian Perez is a first-year Campus Minister. He graduated from Ohio’s Franciscan University of Steubenville in May and joined Montclair State University in June. He was not raised Catholic but converted.
Perez said, “I was super motivated by the work of doing ministry, but I felt like because of the newness of my conversion, there was a lot that I needed to learn. It was more of a foundation that I needed before doing this ministry if I was going to do it full-time. That’s what prompted me to go and study theology. I spent a year studying theology at a Protestant Bible college. Then it was there that I discovered the beauty of Catholicism, entered into RCIA and received the Sacraments of Initiation, and then transferred to Franciscan to finish my study of theology.”
He said of the activity at the Newman Center on the Upper Montclair campus, “We have a few things planned already, but a lot of it is going to, I feel, arise in the moment in a way. The biggest thing we’re focusing on right now is the first week when students go into campus. It is their first week of classes, and that is when we want to be able to make an impression on the new students that are coming in. We want to let them know that, first of all, we are here before students get too involved in their studies and start looking for clubs or organizations. That first week is very important.”
Perez will hold his first Newman Nights social gathering on Tuesday, Sept.r 3, and the following two days, as summer break segues into school days, will feature a game night and barbeque. He said, “We are going to have a different event each night of that Welcome Week, and we are going to set up our table on the campus and let people know who we are and where we are.”
Perez is also looking to have students perform a service with Mercy House of Newark. Still, he said regarding the ministry’s tentative schedule, “It’s kind of hard to plan for the whole semester because you never know who is going to show up. You never know what the new students’ situations are. We’re just open-minded and see what needs to be met.”
Perez would also like to schedule an all-day retreat for students and, like Pasker, finds the opportunity of an outdoor hike favorable. “We want to have Father Jim (Chern) with us and have Mass outside in the middle of the hike. We thought that might be a cool thing to do, maybe in October when it starts getting a little bit cooler.
Perez looks forward to working with Father Chern, Director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain for Montclair State University. “We had a really great conversation,” he said of their first discussion. “I remember feeling excited about all the things that he was telling me about the ministry, about what they have done in the past and what they need in the future. We get along well, and I feel like we have the same kind of views on certain topics. I’m just looking forward to when the students show up and starting the actual ministry alongside of him.”
Lucia Pasternak is entering her fourth year as Campus Minister at Kean University. She said, “I’m very happy to be doing it. I’m so happy to be here. It’s the desire that students have for Christ on campus that’s so exciting.”
Pasternak attained a master’s degree in administration from Caldwell College and has a background in theology and psychology. She said, “I left undergraduate college initially, and I went right into working in residence life, which is involved in student affairs – and I did want to work with college students. I love the environment; I love the atmosphere. I love working with the young adults who are still in school and still have their routines, but it’s kind of like a safety net. You are still very much out on your own, doing your own thing for the first time. I love working with students in that stage of their life.”
As the fall semester arrives, Campus Ministry begins anew for Kean Catholics. Pasternak said, “During the first week of school, we have a big involvement fair that many colleges do. Every office and student organization will do tabling to recruit, and it’s really cool when students walk up to our table on their own accord. They’re not coming over because I’m calling them over, and I’m not walking them over. They’re seeking something, and whether they know much about their relationship with Christ or not, it is really exciting.”
The Kean Catholics’ schedule may include arts and crafts, Movie Night, student-led Bible study, and one Pasternak herself conducts. As Campus Minister, however, she is—as are all the Campus Ministers—especially honed on the most important thing of all.
She said, “The big thing that we introduced last year and that I’m going to be focusing on for this upcoming academic year is Mass.” In September 2013, Kean Catholics held their first Mass in two years. “It was incredible,” Pasternak said, “The first couple weeks, we were a little slow to start, but by the end of the spring semester, we had full rooms.”
Father Peter Volz, who is beginning his second year as chaplain at Kean University, agrees.
Father Volz said, “I think that right now, the most important aspect of my role as campus minister is providing sacraments to the Catholics on campus. Lucia is able to do Bible studies and coordinate other activities to bring the community together. However, the sacraments are what makes us Catholic. I am always impressed when I see the students taking advantage of the sacraments that we tried to provide with some regularity on campus. It is impressive to see young people respond to the call of Jesus or seek to deepen their faith in the context of a secular university and an even more secular world. I think that most of the students are still trying to cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ. I always try to emphasize the fact that even though they are studying for a degree that will hopefully lead them to a good career that will, in turn, hopefully, lead them to be successful in life, the only way actually to secure their happiness is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Kean Catholics will host its first, highly requested Spanish Mass with Father Volz in September this year, and Catholic Newman Club President Mariana Guerini will offer a Portuguese Rosary once monthly.
Pasternak added, “We’re doing more outreach and trying some new things, but we’re still focusing on our main goal of keeping Christ on campus.”
David Donohoe, originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., has begun his third year as Ramapo College Campus Minister. His official start date in 2022 was on the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As a youngster, he was baptized, received his sacraments, and attended Sunday Mass, but in his words, his faith was “just going through the motions.” After graduating from high school, he attended Duquesne University. While there, thanks to that school’s Campus Ministry, he had a profound encounter with Christ.
Donohoe, 31, said, “Campus Ministry truly changed my entire life. More importantly, working through Campus Ministry totally changed my life.”
Mass at Ramapo is held three days a week – on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday; Eucharistic Adoration follows the weekday Masses. The ministry hosts student-run men’s and women’s bible studies and a weekly Newman Night, which can be Eucharistic Adoration, a talk on faith, a scavenger hunt on campus, or a chill-out evening – especially before final exams. Donohoe and his ministry have also taken to the road to serve others. Last spring, his students went on a mission trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with an organization called Christ in the City. This Catholic Missionary organization serves the poor and the homeless in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
“We try to have a balance of things that are more serious and things that are fun,” Donohoe said. “I am also blessed to be an OCIA facilitator. Right now, we have five students in OCIA. In fact, just this past April, I was very blessed to see one of my own OCIA candidates receive Confirmation. It was a really joyful event, and I was able to see the transformation of a student right before my eyes.”
Joseph McDermott, a Ramapo senior studying Bioinformatics, and junior Chloe Sisskind are both in OCIA.
McDermott sums up Campus Ministry well. “It is a community of people that care about the same or similar things as me, and it gives me a community of people away from my normal community that encourages me.”
Sisskind added, “When I joined Newman, I hoped to make more friends and have things to do.
I feel accepted with my faith and not left out of anything. Everybody is so nice and caring.”
Father Zaniewski believes it is more challenging for first-year college students than returnees. He said, “They are kind of scared and want to make a good impression. It is a challenge to make them feel at home and that they will not be judged. We just embrace them as they are, and once they know this is a safe place for them, they kind of relax and open up.” Returning Stevens and Ramapo students who are encouraged to mentor the incoming students are a significant aid. “Especially focusing on a one-on-one relationship,” Father Zaniewski said. “Focusing on the individual, befriending them, and just making them feel at home.”
Whether serving Mass, conducting a penance service, or even just in discussion with students, Father Zaniewski – who resides at both St. Paul’s Parish in Ramsey and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oakland – most of all notices students opening their hearts. “Whether preparation with parts of the service, whether it is music or setting up before more Mass, or being attentive and listening, it is manifested when they are asking questions after the Mass. They are interested in the Word of God.” He also notices the students embracing time with Jesus by remaining following Mass. “After the final hymn, they stay for sometimes 10 minutes in silence, making it a beautiful time of thanksgiving.”
As for penance services, Father Zaniewski says that once the students know he is there for them, they are like an open book. “They just talk about how freeing and joy-restoring Confession really is. It is also a wonderful experience for me.”
Hilda Tejeda is a Ramapo sophomore and Biology student. Campus Ministry has strengthened her faith and connected her with amazing people who share her beliefs.
She said, “As a Catholic my whole life, this has helped me develop my relationship with God more profoundly through Bible studies, the Women’s Catholic retreat, etc. I don’t dorm; I commute. But if I lived there, I am sure that everyone would make me feel as welcome as I have felt so far.”
Nicastro, a revert to Catholicism and an active parishioner at Garfield’s Our Lady of Mount Virgin Roman Catholic Church is in his first full year as Campus Minister for NJIT and Rutgers–Newark (he started in January of this year).
His first semester as an NJIT minister last spring went well. “They had a Newman Catholic club that was fairly active,” he said. “They had the infrastructure already, students that were interested, they had an E-board, so it wasn’t that hard to adjust. It was pretty seamless. We had some good stuff last semester.”
At NJIT, currently the stronger ministry of his two campuses, 20 – 25 regular attendees visit to pray the Rosary or the Divine Office. The Rutgers—Newark ministry is being rebuilt.
Nicastro said of the latter institution, “I’m trying to get them to allow us to do a tabling there with NJIT students to see if there’s any interest.” He paused, then added, “It is exciting. I think there is a yearning among this newer generation. I think it is partly due to the bad hand that they were given with all the craziness in the world. They are looking for some sort of stability, and I think our faith provides that.”
Like Pasker, Nicastro sees the biggest challenge students face is the immense workload they carry while trying to find time for their faith. He said, “Technology is supposed to make life easier and emancipate free time, but having to be plugged into work and email, they don’t have the same amount of free time to devote even to their faith. They are always going to be burned out. It is kind of having to navigate that, I think is the pressing issue.”
As for what Nicastro has scheduled, works of Mercy tops the list. Many of his students chipped in to donate school supplies to The Mercy House in Newark, and in December, they will be looking to do something around Christmas with the women’s shelter in Jersey City that Mercy House operates. He said, “The Franciscan Friars Renewal is nearby. We went over there and helped out with the soup kitchen. We’re not far, just about eight minutes from the Friary.”
Also on tap is a lecture series, something Nicastro and returning students are familiar with. Last Lenten season, there was a presentation on the Shroud of Turin — their advisor is a scholar on the Shroud of Turin.
“She’s going to study at the Pontifical Academy in Rome and is a great resource to have,” Nicastro said.
They will also hold a Dominican Friar event — “Ask a Friar.”
Last year, they did a movie screening event of the Cabrini movie and had the director of the Italian Apostolate come in and talk about Cabrini’s work in Newark.
Having these events “right in our own backyard,” Nicastro perhaps best defined the value of Campus Ministry for students: It is Christ, others, and family. Welcome home.
“I joined Newman Catholic to find a welcoming community so that I can make new friends, learn more about the Catholic faith, and how to grow closer to God,” Giana Carofine, a 4+1 Ramapo master’s student, said. “Newman Catholic has given me friendships, opportunities to travel to conferences, as well as gain a deeper understanding and love for Jesus. Newman Catholic has given me friendships and a relationship with Jesus that I don’t know how I lived without. I always feel included and wanted at all the events and Masses held on campus. I am forever blessed for the people I have met and the ongoing faith journey I am living out in my daily life.”
Below is a list of Archdiocese of Newark Catholic Campus Ministers and their contact emails:
Kean University
Lucia Pasternak – Lucia.Pasternak@rcan.org
Montclair State University
NJIT/Rutgers Newark
Louis Nicastro – Louis.Nicastro@rcan.org
Ramapo College
David Donohoe – David.Donohoe@rcan.org
Stevens Institute of Technology
Brooke Pasker – Brooke.Pasker@rcan.org
