--- title: Touring Colleges? Look for the Catholic Community on Campus Too description: Discover the importance of a Catholic community on college campuses and how it can support your student's faith journey during their college years. image: https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/Newman%20Connection%20blog%20cover%20images-Oct-14-2026-02-12-40-8044-PM.jpg --- [![Horizontal-2](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizontal-2.png?width=1679&height=428&name=Horizontal-2.png "Horizontal-2")](https://connection.newmanministry.com/) ![Students2.Blog.Header](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/Students2.Blog.Header.png "Students2.Blog.Header") # The Newman Blog #### Helping College Students Grow Their Faith. ## What's Happening - Filter By Topic - [All](https://blog.newmanconnection.org) - [Campus Ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/campus-ministry) - [Faith Forward Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/faith-forward-stories) - [Catholic](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/catholic) - [Faith Forward Movement](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/faith-forward-movement) - [Evangelization](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/evangelization) - [Student Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/student-stories) - [Catholic Blog](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/catholic-blog) - [Lent](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/lent) - [Student Story](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/student-story) - [Faith Journey](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/faith-journey) - [Spirituality](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/spirituality) - [Prayer](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/prayer) - [Leadership](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/leadership) - [Saint](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/saint) - [Called+](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/called) - [Catholic Lifecycle](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/catholic-lifecycle) - [community](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/community) - [ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/ministry) [Campus Ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/campus-ministry) [Faith Forward Movement](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/faith-forward-movement) # Touring Colleges? Look for the Catholic Community on Campus Too ![](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/Newman%20Connection%20blog%20cover%20images-Oct-14-2026-02-12-40-8044-PM.jpg) #### Share [mailto:?body=https://blog.newmanconnection.org/touring-colleges-look-for-the-catholic-community-on-campus-too](mailto:?body=https://blog.newmanconnection.org/touring-colleges-look-for-the-catholic-community-on-campus-too) ![Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/%E2%80%A2%20LOGOS%20%E2%80%A2/Newman%20Connect%20App/Screenshot%202025-06-30%20at%208.28.46%20AM.png) Written By [Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/author/newman-connection) On Oct, 15 2026 3 minute read The tour guide walks backward across the quad. She points out the science building, the dining hall, and the dorm with the best view. Your student nods along. You snap a photo of the library. In two hours, nobody says a word about the Catholic community on campus. Then you pass a small brick building near the edge of the quad. There is a cross over the door. The guide keeps walking. Yet that building might shape your student's next four years more than any lab on the tour. Of course, classes, cost, and careers matter. You should weigh them with care. But your student is not only picking a major. They are also picking the people they will eat with, study with, and lean on when life gets hard. ## Why faith community matters as much as the classes Most Catholic students do not leave their faith on purpose. Instead, they arrive on campus alone. Nobody knows their name. Nobody invites them to Mass. Over time, Sunday mornings fill up with other things. A strong Catholic community changes that story. First, it gives your student a place to belong in the first few weeks, when habits form fast. It also offers Mass, confession, and quiet prayer close to where they live. Most of all, it offers friends who care about the same things they do. For you as a parent, [it means something simple, too.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/for-parents/)When you drive away on move-in day, someone on that campus will notice your child. ## Questions to ask about the Catholic community on campus So add one more stop to your college visit. Walk over to the Newman Center or Catholic campus ministry. If you can, plan your trip so you can go to Sunday Mass. Then ask a few questions: - When are Mass and confession offered each week? - Is there a priest or campus minister on staff? How does a new student meet them? - What happens in the first two weeks of fall? Is there a welcome event for freshmen? - Are there small groups, retreats, or service trips? - How far is the chapel from the freshman dorms? - How did current students find their friends here? Also, notice how it feels to walk in. Does someone say hello? Does a student offer to show you around? Those small moments tell you a lot. ## Look up every school with Find Your Campus However, not every tour stops at the chapel. That is where Find Your Campus helps. [It is a free tool on the Newman Connection website.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/find-a-campus/) Search for a school, and you can see the Catholic community serving that campus. Pages can include Mass, confession, and adoration times, plus events and retreats. Newman Connection works with 426 campus ministry partners serving 585 college campuses. As a result, you can look up every school on your list in one place. Then compare them side by side, just like you compare tuition and majors. For example, try it at the kitchen table before your next trip. Next, plan your visit around Sunday Mass or a weeknight event. That way, you see the Catholic community on campus as it really is, not just a building on a map. ## Faith Forward: a personal welcome before move-in day Finding the right community is the first step. Getting your student through the door is the second. That is where Faith Forward comes in. [Faith Forward is a national movement for Catholic high school seniors](https://connection.newmanministry.com/faith_forward_movement/). Your student signs up in under a minute with their name and where they are headed. It is free. Newman Connection then connects them with the Catholic campus ministry at their new school. As a result, a campus minister or student leader can reach out by name before move-in day. Your student gets a real invitation, not just a website. In other words, [they will not have to walk into the Newman Center alone.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/for-students/) You can help make that happen. This spring, sit down with your senior and sign up together. ## Make the well-rounded choice Picking a college is one of the biggest choices your family will make. So look at the classes. Look at the cost. And look for the people who will help your student keep their faith when you are not there. After all, your student is more than a future degree. They are a whole person, with a mind, a heart, and a soul. Every soul matters. No one walks alone. Before your next college visit, search each school on [Find Your Campus](https://connection.newmanministry.com/find-a-campus/). Then sign your senior up for [Faith Forward.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/faith_forward_movement/) [![Your Next Step in Faith We match grads with their Catholic community across the country.](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4720238/interactive-193334411445.png)](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLJHwmeisc%2B8mTqXY%2BqDQD7GAZPWQOIwbE5%2FqLv3RSgH3zZ28Npt2udAXEnX6oDmVdSpU%2FcmFWvqLnNJ3QbcZNDVpdbfAPxywvVSkIEGxOyfKgzU2Yb2PhJX9UPGPk%2FQRgsX4qgwyA5S0Cc7UvfTiaT0biUKtlIUSMPQtvkb2BF0EGedbb%2FH0X0GUSyF%2BamCzSOpz1RwhhfrcIGrzH0mFV%2FtzANDyI34d7o%3D&webInteractiveContentId=193334411445&portalId=4720238) ### Recommended Articles: [Campus Ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/campus-ministry) ##### [What We’re Learning From This Fall’s Incoming College Students](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/what-were-learning-from-this-falls) 6 Oct, 2026 ![Picture of Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/%E2%80%A2%20LOGOS%20%E2%80%A2/Newman%20Connect%20App/Screenshot%202025-06-30%20at%208.28.46%20AM.png) [Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/author/newman-connection) [0 Comments](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/touring-colleges-look-for-the-catholic-community-on-campus-too#comments-listing) [Campus Ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/campus-ministry) ##### [Creating Community and Faith: Catholic Campus Ministry at WashU](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/creating-community-and-faith-catholic-campus-ministry-at-washu) 22 Sep, 2026 ![Picture of Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/%E2%80%A2%20LOGOS%20%E2%80%A2/Newman%20Connect%20App/Screenshot%202025-06-30%20at%208.28.46%20AM.png) [Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/author/newman-connection) [0 Comments](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/touring-colleges-look-for-the-catholic-community-on-campus-too#comments-listing) ### Subscribe to our newsletter We hate spam. 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