The Duke Catholic Center is the official Catholic community on the campus of Duke University
A ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh and the Legionaries of Christ, alongside Regnum Christi and the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, the DCC serves a Catholic student population that is the largest single denomination on campus. Of the 13,300 students at Duke University, about 20% of them are Roman Catholic. The ministries of the Duke Catholic Center serve and support the spiritual development of countless students during critical transitional times in their lives.
The Duke Catholic Center fosters the formation of future Catholic leaders and promotes the integration of our spiritual, intellectual, and social lives.
Mission & Strategic Plan
Our Mission
The Duke Catholic Center is a spiritual home for students at Duke University. We seek to create a welcoming Catholic community grounded in the Eucharist, intellectual growth in faith, social justice, and the nurturing of leaders.
Our Vision
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4)
We want to cast a wider net into deeper water. We believe that we have an established Catholic presence on the campus of Duke University, but one which has yet to realize its fullest potential. We desire not to remain like the apostles in the upper room after the resurrection, but rather to be the apostles who, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke the language of every person. We envision our ministry touching the lives of more students, faculty, and staff by meeting them where they are and inviting them to connect with us in some way. We believe that by focusing on targeted outreach for different stages of spiritual development and empowering students to minister to one another, we can connect more students than ever before to the person of Christ.
A wider net in progressively deeper water: that will mark our efforts in the next three to five years. We are confident that these efforts will net us a great catch!
Our Plan
Belong: We joyfully participate in a full, conscious and active celebration of the sacramental life.
- 40- 50% of Catholic students engage in the Catholic community at least once per semester by May 2020.
- 30-35% of Catholic students attend weekly Sunday Mass by May 2020.
Believe: We encounter and know Jesus more deeply by sharing the faith with others.
- 125-150 of Catholic students participate in vibrant faith-sharing groups on a weekly basis by May 2020.
- Catholic students explore and deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith through faith formation opportunities by May 2020.
Become: We actively live the faith by becoming lifelong devoted disciples of Jesus Christ in the world.
- 20-25% of Catholic students embrace the desire and discipline of daily prayer through resources and opportunities provided by Duke Catholic Center by May 2020.
- 20-25% of Catholic seniors participate in a program that facilitates faith life post-Duke by May 2020.
Advisory Board
Duke Catholic Center Advisory Board 2022-2023
Michael Francese — Chair | A.B.’88, P’21, P’24 | Vienna, VA
Sarah Adams | A.B.’70, L’73, P’01, P’04 | Atlanta, GA
Peter Casarella | Duke Divinity Professor of Theology | Durham, NC
Adan Cortez-Perez | T’25 | Phoenix, AZ
Maria Eugenia Gallagher | P’19 | Sugar Land, TX
Michael Joyce | A.B.’03 | Ashburn, VA
Meg Kedrowski | A.B. ’07 | Redondo Beach, CA
Heather Kempczinski | B.S.’91, P’24, P’25 | Chicago, IL
Pamela Medina-Quispe | PhD’15 | Toronto, ON
Robert McHugh | B.S.’80 | Fairfield, CT
Geraldine McManus | P’24 | Far Hills, NJ
Kimberly Reddy | B.S.’89, P’24, P’25 | Atlanta, GA
Denise Salvino | P’20 | Charlotte, NC
Naima Turbes | T’23 | Atlanta, GA
Diane Uzarski | DNP’15 | Durham , NC
Robert Won | B.S.’11 | Washington, DC
Bill Yoh | A.B.’93, P’22 | Bryn Mawr, PA