Murray State University Newman Center members Lilly Watson (senior), Luke Yunker (FOCUS missionary), Matthew Lesniewski (FOCUS missionary), Michael TenEyck (senior), Landon Shupe (senior), Rachel Dalton (FOCUS missionary) and Hannah Weigel (FOCUS missionary) smile with a cardboard cutout of Pope Leo XIV during fall 2026 Welcome Week. Their table included “put-put for a donut,” with a little put-put green where students could get a donut for making the put, and getting a donut hole if they did not. COURTESY OF PHILOMENA HEMPEL
‘Simply the grace of God’
Local campus ministries welcome increased interest in faith among students
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
This fall, the Catholic campus ministries at both Western Kentucky University and Murray State University have observed an increasing rate of student involvement and interest in Catholicism.
“Honestly, there are a number of elements to which I would attribute this year’s fall outreach success, but I’ll limit myself to just a couple!” said Philomena Hempel, campus minister for Murray State’s Newman Center in Murray, Kentucky. “The first is simply the grace of God: we are seeing around the country an increase in interest toward religion, and Murray is no different. All the planning in the world couldn’t do what a little bit of God’s grace is capable of.”
Secondly, Hempel credited the strong leadership from both their FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionaries, and the Newman Center’s developing student leadership team.
Several students with the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center smile with the Big Red mascot of Western Kentucky University during the Involvement Fair in fall 2026. COURTESY OF KATIE BICKERS
Hempel said the missionaries and student leaders had worked hard at the end of the spring 2026 semester “to help prepare us for the fall so that we could jump right in.”
This year, in addition, the Newman Center has for the first time organized student leadership committees with students who are “passionate about building up Newman” and can “do a good job of welcoming both cradle Catholics and those exploring what Christianity even is,” said Hempel.
She shared in the Newman Center’s newsletter that during this year’s nine-day Welcome Week, they made more than 200 new contacts, have had seven students interested in OCIA, and saw about 100 students come to the center’s grill-out with yard games. During the semester’s first Newman Night, they welcomed more than 60 students at Mass, more than 50 at the dinner, and witnessed more than 40 attending the concluding holy hour.
Katie Bickers, the director of campus ministry at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Campus Center at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, shared similar successes at the start of the semester.
She reported 210 new students encountered, based on the phone numbers collected; about 90 students have come to bible study, 24 students identified to lead bible studies this semester, and about 10 students inquiring about OCIA.
Murray State University’s Newman Center student leaders participate in a mini retreat at the beginning of the semester on Aug. 16., 2026. COURTESY OF PHILOMENA HEMPEL
Bickers also said that there were around 60 students at the Catholic center’s first adoration evening of the semester. They have already hosted nine events at St. Thomas Aquinas, including a trivia night hosted by the staff of neighboring Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center.
Another popular event has been “Club Top” (named for WKU’s nickname, the Hilltoppers), “where we completely redecorate our entire building to look like a full-service mocktail bar and dance club,” said Bickers. “We serve as a nightlife alternative for college students with no alcohol,” which includes bouncers and staff overseeing the entire event.
Bickers said the students stayed until after midnight, “having a blast.”
In addition, St. Thomas Aquinas has already held five sessions about “going out on campus” to encounter new students and invite them to visit the Catholic center.
Students smile for a photo while attending a grill-out at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center at Western Kentucky University in fall 2026. COURTESY OF KATIE BICKERS
Originally printed in the October 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
