History
-
-
-
The Early Days
-
The Catholic Church ha
s a long and rich history in West Georgia including at the University of West Georgia. Records show a charter for a Newman Club established in 1958 with one of the original charter members being Alice Maddox, mother to current Advisory Board Member Bill Maddox. In the early years of Campus Ministry at UWG, students celebrated mass weekly in the Kennedy Chapel. The chapel was originally an Episcopal church that eventually became the first home of the local parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1953. As the OLPH community began to grow a new church was planned, eventually built, and the original church was donated to the University in 1964. It became an ecumenical chapel for the campus. After the assasination of President John F. Kennedy, students at the University decided to name the chapel with a rich Catholic history in his honor. In May of 1964, Attorney General Robert Kennedy came to the campus for the dedication. For many year thereafter, Catholic Campus Ministry waxed and waned. Mass continued to be offered weekly, formation opportunities and bible studies were occasionally held along with a limited number of social opportunities. This was due to the fact that the ministry did not have a "place to call home" - a Catholic Center. That began to change in 2009 with the assignment of Father Rafael Carballo as pastor to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
-
-
It's Time To Build
-
Upon his arrival at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, it didn't take long for Fr. Rafael Carballo to realize the great need for a Catholic Center at UWG. He quickly developed a rapport with students not only celebrating mass weekly, but also taking students out to dinner, providing formation and even scheduling day trips. Student participation began to grow. Although the Kennedy Chapel had acted as a weekly place of refuge, he knew these students needed more. They needed a place to "gather, study, meet, relax and find spiritual comfort in the support of their Catholic faith and peers." (GA Bulletin / Dec. 2014) He diligently began working with Advisory Board Member Jerry Mock and Fr. Richard Morrow, the first pastor of OLPH and personal mentor, to bring a Catholic Center to UWG. In 2015, the Archdiocese of Atlanta urged by Fr. Rafael purchased a parcel of land immediately across the street from the Kennedy Chapel and preliminary architectural plans were developed. This would be the site of a new Catholic Center at UWG. Shortly after Fr. Carballo was reassigned as pastor to St. Mary's parish in Rome. 
In 2019, Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish and the Archdiocese of Atlanta realized that in order for the building effort to continue a Director of Campus Ministry was needed and hired Norma Rothschadl. Norma had previously acted as the DRE and Youth MInister at OLPH for nearly ten years. She quickly began efforts to build the ministry and to raise funds for a center. She championed the phrase, "It's Time to Build" and implored Catholics from West Georgia to not wait a minute longer to build an "intellectual and spiritual home" for the Catholic students at UWG. That year nearly $300,000 was raised for a new center. In November of 2019 the Campus Ministry group was the number one grossing ministry in the #iGIVECATHOLIC Campaign, and in February it hosted the Inaugural Campus Catholics Gala. Very soon after the COVID19 virus swept across the United States.
-
-
Dedication of Center
-
This is a history that is still yet to be written! After the COVID 19 virus hit the United States, the Campus Ministry program realized that development efforts would be greatly impacted and a ground breaking could be delayed by years. However, when one door closes, God surely opens another. During the period of quarantine a home located right next to the purchased lot for the proposed center became available. Norma quickly campaigned the Archdiocese of Atlanta for permission to rent the property to be used as a temporary Catholic Center until funds could be raised to build the originally planned center. She knew the students could not go another year without a "place to call home". On June 15, 2020 permission was granted by the Archdiocese and the Catholic Center at the University of West Georgia was opened for the Fall Semester of 2020!
-
