NEWMAN HALL, A HOME FOR ALL

Whether you are new to Berkeley or have lived here for years, you are welcome here…

Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish is a spiritual home to undergrad and grad students at UC Berkeley, and to adults and families from the Berkeley/Oakland area and beyond. This special combination of student and resident parishioners has created a unique community of faith that invites all to the love of Christ.

In particular, we are about serving the students at UC Berkeley as they delve into and take ownership of their faith as young adults.

Students get the latest news and events on our Slack Channel:

newmanvillage.slack.com

Newman Hall welcomes the Dominican Fathers

Our new pastor, Fr. Xavier Lavagetto, OP, arrived July 1st from his post as pastor and director of the Catholic Community at Stanford University. He has made the Imogene Simpson Room (just inside the front doors) his office. Stop by for a visit, or contact him via email at Xavier Lavagetto, (xavierop@calnewman.org ) or cell phone, (650) 291-4590. To make an appointment with Fr. Xavier, you may do so by clicking here: xavierop.youcanbook.me .

Associate pastor, Fr. Pius Youn, OP has joined us in Berkeley where he undertook his seminary studies at the GTU’s Dominican School of Theology and Philosophy. Ordained in 2018, Fr. Pius most recently served in a parish in Anchorage with ministry also to a parish in Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, AK. Click here for a bio. You can make an appointment with him via email at piusop@calnewman.org

Do you feel called to help in any of these ways? Sign up here or just come to a training.
Lector trainings are offered at 10 am on the first Saturday of the month.
The next Eucharistic Minister Training will be on Sunday, October 13th at 9am

FOCUS Missionaries for 2024-2025

Click here to check out our 2024-2025 FOCUS Missionaries.

Paulist Fathers Farewell at Newman

After 117 years of service to the Diocese of Oakland at UC Berkeley, the Paulist Fathers left Newman on July 1st. Because of the decline in numbers due to aging and circumstances, the Paulists earlier made tough decisions to close some national office and leave two ministry locations.

To celebrate the Paulists’ 117 years of service to Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish and the Oakland Diocese, the Newman community held a Mass of Thanksgiving at the 5pm Saturday Mass on June 22, followed by a joyful reception. The party was a great success with a number of former Newman parishioners, priests, and Cal alums returning for the festivities. Some alumni traveled from as far as Pennsylvania and Tennessee to participate.

Where are the current Paulists going?

Come July 1st, all the Berkeley Paulists are moving to their new assignments:

Fr. Ivan is assigned to be pastor at Old St. Mary’s in San Francisco. You can reach him at 660 California St., San Francisco, CA 94108

Fr. Ryan is assigned to serve as Parochial Vicar at Cathedral of St. Andrew. You can reach him at the 267 Sheldon SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Fr. Ken is also moving to the Cathedral of St. Andrew to serve as a priest in Senior Ministry. His address is 267 Sheldon SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Zach is returning to the seminary to continue his studies. You can reach him at 3001 4th St NE, Washington, DC 20017

Bishop’s Ministries Appeal

Thank you for supporting our diocese in her efforts to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of the East Bay. We have exceeded our goal of $39,500 by about $4,700. Thank you for your generosity. All funds in excess of our goal will be returned to Newman to support our ministries. Thanks again.

Beware of Internet Scams

Please be aware of scams on the internet with folks pretending to be the pastor or someone you trust. They will be asking for a favor that typically is getting them gift cards and sending the codes over the internet. Before getting the gift cards or sending any info, please verify by using your usually way to talk to the person. It is most likely a scam.

If you choose to interact with the person, you may want to be kind to the person, maybe let them know you’ll be praying for them. They are trying to take advantage of our kindness, so be true to your kindness and be kind and wise. NYTimes had a front page article about people in the FarEast being scammed with the promise of a high paying tech job only to be shipped to a foreign country, locked away, and forced to run internet scams all day long. That would explain how these scams keep on going and keep on changing.

Newman Grads

If you’re a graduate student or young adult, come join Newman Grads. Contact us at grads@calnewman.org for more info or look out for us in front of the church after the 10am Sunday Mass. Here are our regular events:

Sun (11am) - Sunday Social
Thu (7pm) - Women’s Group
Thu (7pm) - Men’s Group

Catholicism WOW!
Wednesdays at 7 pm

Catholicism Wow! invites you to attend the Wednesday evening course, “Exploring Catholicism”, at Newman starting September 11 and continuing for 12 sessions. Catholicism Wow’ will resume after the course. Hope to see you at one or more sessions of this drop in class.

Loaves & Fishes Thanks

Thank you to everyone who helped with our last dinner. Our next community dinner is on Saturday, October 5th.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: The Loaves & Fishes Ministry is looking for a Crew Member to help with the patio duties at our 1st Saturday dinner. Duties may include: making coffee and lemonade, filling the water container, heating water for tea, icing soda cans in a tub, setting up the beverage table and dining tables, taking attendance at the gate. Then, at the end of the afternoon, the process is reversed: Everything that was set-up must be taken down, cleaned, put-away. It makes for a long day, starting at 11:00 AM and ending at around 5:30-6:00 PM. Your only tangible reward is a delicious, 3-course meal and beverages, but the intangibles are many. If you want to give it a try, contact Joe Burns at lf.newman.hall@gmail.com

Habitat for Newmanity Thanks

Thanks to all who helped maintain and beautify Newman in 2024. We are blessed to have such faithful volunteers! Click this link to get the latest information about our upcoming projects.

Events & News Outside NEWMAN

Ceasefire Walk Night Walks

WINGS, a women’s group at St. Theresa Parish in Oakland, welcomes all women to their weekly meetings and speaker programs. Information coming soon.

Grief Support: An Evening with Sandy (7-8pm, Tue) - peer ministry and drop in session, so come any time and join a group of people sharing our experience of grief along with each other. Sandy Heinisch is a grief trainer with the Diocese of Oakland.

2022 Gallagher Talk: Three Fates of Toxic Polarization and How We Can Deal With Them - Fr. Steven Bell, CSP
Click on the title to watch a presentation

Paulist VOICE Newsletter - Quarterly newsletter from the Paulist Fathers and the latest news.