Bishop Gerald Richard Barnes, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, will be joined by Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás D. Morales for the Thursday, March 7, dedication of the Bishop Barnes Newman Center near the CSUSB campus. The center, named for the bishop, will serve students from the Catholic Newman Club at CSUSB as well as other schools and colleges. The center, located at 2564 Kendall Drive, is about one mile from the CSUSB campus. The dedication ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. with Sister Pesio Iosefo, the CSUSB Catholic Newman Club campus minister, giving the welcome remarks. Bishop Barnes will then begin the prayer and blessing portion of the ceremony, which also will include scripture readings and a homily. Acknowledgments will close the event, including remarks from Newman Club students and President Morales. The 5,000 square-foot facility is built on three acres. The building has a large main meeting area that can accommodate up to 150 people, but can also be divided into three separate meeting rooms. It has two offices, a music room, kitchen, bathrooms and a prayer chapel. Outdoors, there is a prayer garden, a large covered patio and a recreational area that includes a basketball court. There are also 35 parking spaces. The total cost of the Newman Center project was $2.3 million, with a significant portion coming from the “Honoring Our Past, Investing in Our Future” fund created by Mary Ganje in memory of her husband, Tony. Prior to the opening of the Barnes Center, Roman Catholic students at CSUSB have met in various conference rooms on campus for Mass, Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), confirmation classes, confessions, club meetings and social functions. The center will serve Catholic students of the university while also welcoming any student or faculty member who wishes to spend time there. Newman Centers, Newman Houses, or Newman Clubs are Catholic ministry centers at non-Catholic universities found throughout the world. Their establishment was inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who encouraged societies for Catholic students attending secular universities. The first Newman club was established in 1888 at Oxford; the original Catholic club was founded by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell. For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit inside.csusb.edu.