Maximize the Mission

Give to the Max 2026

Support the mission today

Maximize the Mission

Our Why

At Gopher Catholic, we seek to provide a spiritual home for the University of Minnesota community. Through retreats, Mass, adoration, men’s and women’s groups, mission trips, Gopher Catholic Nights, and more, we strive to offer a place of belonging for all students who walk through the doors of St. Lawrence. We invite you to invest in all current and future students with your Give to the Max Gift! 

This fall, we were excited to welcome four FOCUS Catholic missionaries to our Gopher Catholic family. With expanded missionary outreach and more opportunities to bring students closer to Christ, our facilities must grow to meet the needs of this thriving ministry. Maximizing the mission means investing not only in today's students, but in tomorrow's Catholic families. 

Our Goal

Our Give to the Max campaign goal of $250,000 will go directly to fund our campus ministry efforts. Thanks to a generous matching gift challenge, your impact will be doubled! Help us maximize our mission and ensure the faith will take root at the University of Minnesota and continue to flourish for generations.

Funds go toward:

  • Give the gift of retreat to Gopher Catholic. A majority of our students' initial encounters with Christ occur at the fall and spring retreats. On retreats, students receive formative talks, participate in small groups, engage in times of prayer, and attend Daily Mass.

  • We invite students and young adults to a personal encounter with Christ through the true presence in the Eucharist and the sacraments.

    Mass:
    Sunday: 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.
    Monday-Friday: 12:15 p.m.
    Saturday: 9 a.m.

    Confession:
    Monday-Saturday: After Daily Mass

  • On a weekly basis, students are engaged in formation programs to grow as mature Christian disciples.

    Some of our programs:

    • Gopher Catholic (weekly meeting for the whole student community which includes prayer, fellowship, and faith-inspiring talks)

    • Bible Studies

    • Core Team (weekly meeting to equip students leaders)

    • Men's and Women's Group (Large and small group events that help men and women come into their baptismal identity as beloved sons and daughters of God)

  • Four days a week, students gather together to say the Liturgy of the Hours in morning prayer.

    • Catholic Housing:
      -Personal Prayer
      -Morning Prayer as a household
      -Lords Day Supper as a household

    • Adoration: Monday - Friday from 1 - 5 p.m.

    • Eucharistic Procession throughout Dinkytown

    • Eucharistic Encounter Nights

    • Mission Trips that extend the corporal works of mercy to the poor

    • Resources for students interested in becoming Catholic (OCIA)

$250,000 Goal

Support our mission today

What our students are saying:

  • Retreats

    "My freshman year fall retreat was the spark that started my intentional journey toward the Lord. "
    Keiko Bedford,
    Class of 2024

  • Sacramental Life

    "The Newman Center was a great support that gave me the opportunity to lean on so many brothers and sisters who inspired and encouraged me all while giving me consistent exposure to the sacraments."
    Michael Rahm,
    Class of 2021

  • Formation Programs

    "Men’s group and household have truly been an enormous blessing in my growth as a man."
    Matthew Krzmarzick,
    Class of 2025

  • Liturgy of the Hours

    "By prioritizing prayer at a consistent time every day, I am showing myself that God is the highest priority in my life."
    Catherine Thurlow,
    Class of 2022

  • Community

    "Entering college, I never expected to wind up so immersed in the Catholic community. Now I find myself living alongside other faith-filled women, enriching our relationships with each other and the Lord every day."
    Caroline Geiger,
    Class of 2023