In 1883, students attending public colleges and universties in the United States began organizing Catholic clubs and associations with the help of lay and ordained leaders who realized the students' need for support, spiritual growth, community, and connections with the religious heritage.
Many of these were called "Newman Clubs" after the patron of campus ministry, John Henry Cardinal Newman (currently a candidate for canonization): In Idea of a University, John Henry Cardinal Newman argued that the university is dedicated to the search and transmission of all truth, including the fundamental truths revealed by Christ through His Church.
Catholic clubs were extablsihed on public and private campuses, and 1908 marked the founding of the National Newman Club Federation. Since then the Catholic campus ministry movement has continued to grow. There are currently hundreds of campus ministry locations across the country.
The centers provide pastoral services and ministries to the Roman Catholic student population within universities. The faith community and institutions of higher education are involved in a common search for wisdom and truth. Each plays a unique and important role in our growth as human beings, and campus ministry, standing at the intersection of the university and the Church, seeks the integration of faith and reason in the individual.
"We are convinced that this [Campus] Ministry is vitally important for the future of church and society" US Bishops Empowered by the Spirit: Campus ministry Faces the Future