“I truly believe the new Newman Center will be a tremendous gift to campus ministry at UMaine,” says Ben DiBello, campus minister.

“This refurbishment highlights the importance of that ministry, that outreach at a crucial juncture in the life of a person, at a time when people lose their faith,” says Father Brad Morin, the Catholic chaplain at UMaine and pastor of the Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord in Old Town.

When the center opens its doors this fall, it will be the culmination of years of planning, fundraising, demolition, rebuilding, and renovation. While parts of the original center were saved, with a new chapel and a larger gathering space, created by the removal of an inner courtyard, the new center bears only a slight resemblance to its predecessor, built in 1971.

“To have a space that is beautiful, bright, safe, and configured well for the worship of God is super important,” says Father Kyle Doustou, vicar general for the Diocese of Portland and former director of campus ministry.

“It’s going to be a pleasant place for students to come,” says Alan Hinkley, construction superintendent for the Diocesan Construction Company (DICON), the general contractor for the project. “It’s not super fancy, so students won’t feel out of place when they’re here. It’s going to feel like home.”

The decision to rebuild the former center was due to several factors, including the deteriorating condition of the building and the need for better functionality, including having a worship space set apart from other areas, allowing students to gather in prayer, while others are meeting or doing schoolwork.

“At the heart of this blessing is the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Students will be able to step into the chapel at any hour and sit with Our Lord in the Eucharist. That quiet availability of Jesus on campus is something deeply powerful. In the midst of busy schedules, anxieties, and academic pressures, it will offer students a real refuge,” says DiBello.

While the former church was designed with stadium seating leading down to the sanctuary, the new church is on one level, with a slightly raised sanctuary and a choir loft in back. It also features a center aisle.

“So integral to the liturgy is that the priest and the ministers should be able to process through the assembly of the faithful. And at the old Newman Center, you couldn’t really do that,” says Father Doustou.

Instead of chairs, parishioners will sit on pews that came from the former Notre Dame Church in Springvale. DICON cut down the pews so they would fit and stained them to match the other woodwork. Rather than discard the leftover wood, DICON used it for windowsills, the stairs leading to the choir loft, and for a new altar.

The new church also features 15 stained-glass windows, which came from a former convent in the Midwest.

“They’re beautiful hues of gold, red, green, and blue, and at the top of each one is a medallion depicting one of the implements from the Passion,” says Father Doustou. “They’re just beautiful windows.”

The windows and the rest of the church are Romanesque in style.

“We use principles of Romanesque architecture throughout it, with the exposed trusses on the roof, and we mimicked the shape and size of the windows in two alcoves for saints’ statues that we have against the sanctuary wall. The main apse of the sanctuary is an enlarged version of the same arch. We also found lighting pendants with that same arch, so you see this shape replicated through the whole building,” says Father Doustou.

“Students are so often surrounded by utilitarian or purely functional spaces on campus. To be in a place intentionally crafted with beauty, reverence, and care will help lift hearts to God,” says DiBello.

Also important, DiBello stresses, is the renovated community space, which he says will open doors to richer faith formation.

“Bible studies and larger formation events will be able to feel more personal and welcoming in a cozy setting designed for conversation and prayer,” he says. “The warmth and familiarity of our own space will help foster more impactful encounters with each other and with God.”

“We need a place where we can do large group and small group formation. We need a place where we can cook food and commune and have life together. The old Newman Center was built for those things, but its open configuration made simultaneous events impossible,” says Father Doustou.

  The new center also features a renovated kitchen with a new pantry and abundant cabinet space. There are also a row of offices and meeting rooms, a confessional accessible to those with mobility issues, a new narthex, and a bell tower, making the building more identifiable.

“The old building had its own unique charm, but nobody knew what it was. There was a sign, but there was no iconography or anything that said this is a church. Now, there are a couple of things that will make the opposite true. One is the steeple with a beautiful, gilded cross on top,” says Father Doustou. “The second thing is the statue of Our Lady of Wisdom, which was in the inner atrium but is now going to be in front of the building on College Avenue and will be seen from the street. That will communicate to the community that we are here. Our doors are open. We are Catholic.”

The center is also equipped with modern technology, including the ability to live stream and share content online.

Hinkley says his crew took pride in building something they hope will serve the Orono community for years to come.

“All my guys know who they work for, and they know what the endgame is supposed to be,” he says. “We hope it will help make a difference.”