The City of Camden hosts three major institutions of higher education: Rutgers University, Rowan University and Camden County College, which collectively serve a broad demographic of young adults from New Jersey and beyond. Along the way, the Catholic Church is there to serve these students in myriad of ways.
While many may be familiar with Rutgers’ main campus in New Brunswick, Rutgers-Camden is a force to be reckoned with, serving 6,000 undergraduates and graduate students in a variety of schools and majors. I have had the privilege of serving as the faculty adviser for the Catholic Campus Ministry at Rutgers University’s Camden campus since the ministry’s inception in 2017. I am so grateful to have witnessed first-hand the spiritual support the ministry has given to students.
At the start of the ministry, a few determined students took the initiative to establish a Catholic presence on campus, supported by Sister Dorothy Giloley, SSJ, and Father Kristof Wtorek, who was serving in Camden. By 2018, the Catholic Campus Ministry gained official recognition. The impact was profound: Through the ministry, students deepened their understanding and reception of the sacraments, built fellowship and embraced their calling as missionary disciples.
The closure of the university during the COVID-19 pandemic was a severe blow to the social life of students in general, and the Catholic Campus Ministry was no exception; these circumstances were further exacerbated by Sister Dorothy’s retirement. By 2022, a handful of students dedicated themselves to continuing this mission; however, it proved to be a difficult task as momentum had been lost.
By 2023, I felt compelled to support the ministry even more by helping to provide a counterpoint to narratives that have been pervasive on university campuses for years: religious viewpoints that grant unwarranted prestige to materialism, self-sufficiency, and radical self-identity as new gods to be worshipped. I was blessed to have the support and guidance of many friends and mentors, especially Father Stephen Robbins, parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden – which is just a 10-minute walk away from the Rutgers campus!
By the grace of God – and building upon the work of Sister Dorothy and numerous students who courageously kept the ministry going in years prior – the Catholic Campus Ministry at Rutgers-Camden has been able to grow beyond its original vision. The ministry’s student president has stepped up to lead Bible studies on campus on a regular basis, and our members have become accustomed to attending daily Masses at the Cathedral.
One notable moment from the past school year occurred last December, when Bishop Joseph Williams spent an afternoon with us and took a tour of the campus and local neighbourhood. Rutgers-Camden students led the tour, students who are guided by nothing other than their love for our beautiful Catholic faith. They took time out of their busy schedules to share their love of the Word of God with each other and the community, even attracting fellow non-Catholic students into the fold.
I am confident that the future is bright for the Catholic community at Rutgers-Camden and in the City of Camden itself. “Go therefore and make all disciples of all nations,” says Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. If we are fearful that young people are no longer coming to church, then it is up to all of us to do something about it.
Many of us have a mental image of missionaries being brave men and women who travel to remote areas of the world, and indeed, this is true. But it is also true that our mission – your mission – could be oriented toward a place no further than one’s next-door neighbor.
Camden needs us. The young people of our Diocese need us. In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the great mission of the Gospel is alive and active right where you are, right at this moment. We are called to bring this hope to everyone we meet and to bring everyone into the universal Church established by Christ.
Chris Lim is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the faculty adviser for the Rutgers-Camden Catholic Campus Ministry. For more information, email chlim@camden.rutgers.edu.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
