The new home of TCU’s Newman Center may be familiar to some alumni, but they likely went to the building at 2000 West Berry St. just before the train tracks for a beer rather than prayer.
The building that was once a bar is being transformed into the new home for TCU Catholic. The former Newman Center is relocating after the previous location, that they’ve operated in since 2015 at Kubes Jewelers was purchased by TCU under the 2024 Campus Master.
The new location has a long lineage of bars including Americado Food Hall, the Moon Bar and Berry Street Ice House and the most recent name: Lola’s. The concert venue moved into the facility in 2022 and closed November 2023 according to the Fort Worth Report.
The relocation comes amid a shift in students’ religious identifications. TCU’s university data shows that in the past 10 years, the number of students who identify as Roman Catholic has dropped by nearly 1,500. Despite this statistic, the campus ministry has seen a drastic increase in participation.
“Each Sunday, we are seeing over 500 students at Mass, and this year, we saw over 1,000 students and community members attend our Ash Wednesday services,” Catherine Ochoa, the TCU Catholic campus minister, said. “Our community continues to grow each year, both in participation and depth of involvement.”
The Newman Center, located on Berry Street, was opened for TCU students in 2016. (Photo courtesy of Renee Umsted)
Senior supply chain management major and TCU Catholic President, Javier Avila, said the leaders have seen an increase in Mass attendees and that standing-room-only services revealed the need to expand to a bigger space than the previous Newman Center could offer.
“It is difficult having to move, but it also pushed us to do something that was necessary, because we were outgrowing the space,” Avila said.
The new building has expanded. It stands two stories tall and contains a chapel, study rooms, an outdoor patio and a kitchen. These amenities will allow for the Newman Center to host Wednesday Mass as well as other social events with seating for everyone.
Despite the current lack of a gathering place, TCU Catholic has broadened its outreach on campus. Avila mentioned that losing their main location has led to the organization hosting events in different gathering spaces on campus.
“We had an over-reliance on the Newman Center, and the displacement forced us to branch out. This has led to an increase of visibility on campus,” Avila said. “Going forward, we hope to have a strong mix of events at the upcoming Newman Center and on campus, especially now that the freshmen don’t have cars.”
First-year social work major and member of TCU Catholic, Alyssa Schmitt, shared how important the ministry was in finding community during her first year in college.
“I am so grateful to have those friends that I can share such an important part of me with,” Schmitt said.
This community is how Avila became so involved in the organization during his sophomore year. He said, “There was a moment where I went ‘oh man, these people care for me, and they care about me,’ that was a pivotal moment for me.”
Avila looks forward to the opening of the Newman Center, hoping it will “foster a welcoming environment.”