Who We Are

About St. Thomas
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Grounded in the rich traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, St. Thomas is alive and thriving.

Our History

Founded in 1937 as the “Newman Club,” Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Arkansas has transformed over time to become St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish and Student Center. St. Thomas has a unique mission is to serve all undergraduate, graduate and terminal degree students, faculty, and staff at the University of Arkansas.

Built in 1959, St. Thomas’s facility serves as a spiritual home away from home for students to attend for mass, programs, meals and activities. St. Thomas exists to provide a safe and welcoming community of students, and today over 600 students attend each week for mass, programs, meals and activities. Our location provides us optimal access to the university campus and helps us fulfill our central purpose: to serve university students.

On Sundays, we exceed our capacity for each mass in our church built for 250 people. Over 500 students attend mass each Sunday, along with University faculty, staff, and other parishioners. Additionally, more than 75 students regularly join us for Sunday dinner.

Throughout the semester, we provide ministry services through the Sacraments, vocation talks, spiritual direction, weekly programming, service days (10 a year), Bible studies (men’s, women’s, co-ed, and freshman), social events, mission trips (both domestic and international), and FOCUS conferences. Additionally, new programs like Theology on Tap and a new Freshman ministry have been developed due to student demand for apologetics and theology. Formation also happens at RCIA, where more than 25 young people have become Catholic in the last three years!

The importance of involvement in campus ministry is undeniable. It is during these formative years that young adults explore their self-identity, world views and spirituality.

A HISTORY OF FAITH

1937

Founding of the Newman Club at the University of Arkansas

1952

First full-time chaplain appointed, Rev. John C. O’Dwyer

St Thomas Aquinas University Parish

1956

Arkansas Newman Center launches $225,000 campaign for new student center

Fr. Jason Sharbaugh

A Letter from Our Pastor

Sixty-two years ago, excitement rattled throughout the Catholic students on campus at the University of Arkansas. New hope and enrgy galvanized the faithful to construct St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish as a place to gather as a Catholic campus community.

“St. Thomas Aquinas has truly become a home to me. I want everyone, especially the future generations at University of Arkansas, to experience a community like the one St. Thomas gave me.”

EMILY FEUERBORN, CLASS OF 2021
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Our Staff

Father Jason Sharbaugh

Pastor

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Deacon Norm DeBriyn

Deacon

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Deacon Paul Cronan

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Sarah Brady Du Preez

Director of Stewardship and Development

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Campaign Committee

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain

Honorary Chair

Joe and Dana Kleine

Little Rock

Jerry and Beth Sparks

Fayetteville

Deacon Norm DeBriyn

Chair

Don Eldred

Fayetteville

Alan and Vail Gates

Memphis

Kevin Scanlon

Little Rock

Mandy Macke

Fayetteville

in service of the church

Pastors of St. Thomas

Fr. John A. Flaherty

1937-1938

Fr. Francis J McKee

1946-1950

Fr. Vincent Maguire

1966-1973

Fr. Lawrence Frederick

1989-1991

Fr. Andy Smith

2004-2009

Fr. Rudolph Maus

1938-1939

Fr. Edward Maloy

1951-1952

Fr. Robert Dienert

1973-1977

Fr. Mark Wood

1991-1994

Fr. Joe Marconi

2009-2015

Fr. Jason Sharbaugh

2019-Present

Fr. Charles McCauley

1939-1946

Fr. John C. O’Dwyer

1952-1966

Fr. Joseph Pallo

1977-1989

Dcn. Paul Cronan, pastoral administrator

1994-2003

Fr. Andrew Hart

2015-2019

Previous Campus Ministers

Sr. Norbert Hoelting, OSB

1967-1974

Esther Breeding

1994-1999

Laurie Schuler

2007-2011

Kasey Miller

2011-2014

Adam Koehler

2015-Present

Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

1980-1984

Vera Langanke Zawislak

1999-2008

Jay Carney

2009-2011

Doug Spriggs

2013-2015

Anna Paige Frein Umhoefer

2015-2016

Sr. Mary Adams, OSB

1984-1993

T.C. Long

1999-2006

Lance Dufour

2011-2013

Sr. Therese Moreno, OSB

2013-2015

Juliane Pierini

2016-2019