Mission
Mission
Embedded Files
Who we are
Who we are
St. Thomas More Newman Center is the Catholic Church at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Our mission is to help students encounter Christ's love and to grow into the people they were created to be. Genuine faith and authentic friendships are nurtured through the sacraments, faith formation, and various activities and events!
Since 1964, the USD Newman Center has played an essential role in many young adults' lives. Both the lives of current students and the support of our alumni attest to the importance of this mission in helping students to know Christ and make Him known. We are proud of our student leaders, who once they've encountered Christ's love and truth, respond to the call to serve and give back what they've received. Whether through school, student organizations, the workplace, and in family life, our students are making a difference on USD's campus and beyond.
A note from Father John Rutten
A note from Father John Rutten
Greetings! I'm Fr. John Rutten, the eighth of nine children from Sioux Falls. I was eager to leave home and the University of South Dakota quickly became a home and important part of my formation from 1996-2000! My business degree took me to Chicago and then Minneapolis with companies that asked me to travel all over the country. I loved it! However, I was missing an important part of life and in 2004 I met the tangible love of Jesus Christ, which made my return to the Catholic Church possible. It wasn't long before I knew Jesus was calling me to follow Him in a more vocational way.
In 2012 I was ordained and assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Yankton, where I was able to reconnect to the St. Thomas More Newman Center. I have loved the last ten years of priesthood in parish life, but I am very grateful to begin my tenth year of priesthood as the Director of a ministry which impacts so many young people. As a priest, I have greatly enjoyed seeing how the Holy Spirit works in the life of all people but young people especially. I am eager to see what He will continue to do at the St. Thomas More Newman Center. I am humbled to be the next link in the long line of priests who have guided the almost 60 year history of this mission to help young people discover the tangible love of Jesus Christ ... before they graduate! I must have slipped through the cracks...but fortunately for me and for all people, the crack in our hearts will eventually make His Light more tangible!
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