In the beginning; a group of Catholic students attending the University of California at Berkeley sought to fulfill their lives with more than academia offered. They realized a desire to establish a society that would be for the social, intellectual and religious benefit of its members. In 1898, this group met three times to organize a club but there were disagreements and the project was temporarily abandoned.

One year later the plan was revived and on December 8, 1899 an organization called the Newman Club was founded. The Club was named in the spirit of the English Cardinal, educator and writer. For the first five years, Rev. John J. Cantwell, an assistant parish priest from St. Joseph's Church, provided spiritual direction. He later became the Archbishop of Los Angeles.

In the early years there was no chapel or meeting place. Newman Club members attended Mass at churches in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco and other communities. Newman Club meetings were held in members' homes and at various halls. Social activities in cluded dinners, teas, musicales, receptions and lectures. Popular topics were St. Francis of Assisi, liturgical beginnings of the modern drama, the Church and Socialism, religious conversions, the present state of criminal law, individual rights and the Catholic idea of life.

The students' spirit carried them through these early difficult years. In 1906 Archbishop Riordan requested the Paulist Fathers to send a resident chaplain for the Newman Club. Father Thomas Verner Moore, C.S.P. became the first chaplain. Archbishop Riordan also secured a gift of $40,000 to be used for building the first Newman Hall.

Finally in 1909, the cornerstone was laid marking the roots of our Newman Hall traditions in Berkeley.

1900 - 1909

The Newman Club was named in honor of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who achieved great prominence in the Catholic intellectual life of the 19th century. Newman Club members celebrated Cardinal Newman's hundredth anniversary with University President Benjamin Ide Wheeler as guest of honor on February 18, 1901. The same year marked the first Annual Communion and breakfast on Low Sunday, an occasion that evolved to be the Club reunion.

Such gatherings popularized Newman Club. In just five years the Club grew to nearly 200 members, but without a centralized meeting place. Events and monthly meetings were held in Stiles Hall and social activities in members' homes. In 1906 the San Francisco earthquake and fire closed the University and students were scattered. The annual Low Sunday Communion was not held. After the disaster, Newman Club members carried on in their conviction that the faith we profess inspires the way we choose to live.

The members' vitality inspired Archbishop Patrick William Riordan of San Francisco to support Newman Club. In 1907, Archbishop Riordan received a gift of $40,000 on the occasion of his silver jubilee from the people of the archdiocese. He contributed this sum to be used for the construction and establishment of an endowment for Newman Hall.

Reverend Thomas Verner Moore, C.S.P., Newman Club's newly appointed chaplain, was commisioned to find a site for the Club. Two pieces of property on Ridge Road and LaLoma were secured for $1,800. A house on one lot became a temporary Newman Club and chapel while plans were designed to build Newman Hall on the remaining site. Reverend Thomas Lantry O'Neill, C.S.P. became the assistant chaplain.

Archbishop Riordan stated in an appeal for Newman Hall: In his Encylical Letter on the Teaching of Christian Doctrine the Holy Father, Pius X, decreed and strictly commanded: "In large towns and especially in those which contain Universities, Colleges and Grammar Schools, that religious classes be founded to instruct the truths of Faith and in the practice of Christian life, the young people who frequent the public schools, from which all religious teaching is banned."

In 1908, Newman Club hosted lectures by chaplains and lay speakers. Featured topics included: "The Psychology of the Act of Faith;" "Neo-Platonic and Christian Mysticism;" and an address by James D. Phelan on "Ethical Standards in Public Life." The 1909 calendar included a musical recital; "On the Frontier with Custer and Gibbon;" and "Present State of Criminal Law."

The tremendously popular Newman Club outgrew its temporary quarters. In spring of 1909, ground was broken and the cornerstone for Newman Hall was laid. That summer Father Moore joined the philosophy department at the Paulist house in Washington D.C., and Father O'Neill became Newman Hall's chaplain.

1909 - 1919

Archbishop Riordan raised additional funds to build Newman Hall with contributions from many Bay Area Catholics who followed his example. On March 13, 1910, Newman Hall was dedicated.

Father O'Neill was joined by Reverend George M. Searle, C.S.P., former Superior General of the Paulist Fathers, an astromer, and the author of works on mathematics and religion. The house on Ridge Road became the Rectory while Newman Club members settled into their new hall.

Newman Hall flourished with emphasis on religious services and intellectual life. Holy Mass was celebrated in the chapel daily and on Sunday. Worshipers attended Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Sunday afternoon. A small reed organ accompanied The Newman Club choir.

Sermons were supplemented with weekly classes conducted by Chaplains. Public lectures by lay speakers were offered. Subjects included: "The Catholic Idea of Progress," "Scientific Evidence Opposed to the Theory of the Habitation of Other Planets" and "The Rights of Society."

social activites at Newman Hall placed among the principal events of the University. Monthly musicales or readings were well attended. Women met twice a month for tea and men held a smoker twice each year. Low Sunday continued as the biggest annual event.

The Newman Alumni Council was formed on November 20, 1910. The Council established an annual student essay contest and awarded each winner $100. The Alumni have built a union among the graduates and students and continue to further Newman Club interests.

In 1912, a library committee set a goal of 10,000 books for the library. Newman Club members asked the community for donations of works relative to the Catholic Church as well as the standard works. Students began a custom of each donating a book each year.

Archbishop Riordan kept in close touch with Newman Hall with frequent visits and addresses. More than 500 people heard his last address in October, 1914 when he spoke on the function of institutions such as Newman Hall in facilitating the spiritual in university life. On December 27, 1914 Newman Hall lost its greatest benefactor, Archbishop Riordan.

In the summer of 1915, an open house for Freshmen was added to the social calendar. The Alumni Council published a quarterly in 1918 called The Newman Hall Review.

The effect of World War I was considerable. The Newman Club Service Flag was dedicated with 186 stars in 1918. October 7 was a special day of prayer for military men. Newman Hall amenities were extended to the military while social energy was redirected to help those involved with wartime activities. On Passion Sunday of 1919, the service flag, containing 765 stars, was demobilized.