By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
St. Peter Catholic Student Center completed renovations this summer in an effort to accommodate the growth of Baylor’s Catholic community.
According to the St. Peter website, the project was made possible by donations.
“The renovations include several important updates,” the website reads. “These improvements will not only improve the worship experience but also provide a better overflow space for occasions when attendance is exceptionally high. The updated cost of the renovation is estimated to be around $150,000.”
Katie Groves, director of campus ministry at St. Peter, said the renovations started in June and wrapped up in August. She said part of the renovations focused on accommodating the overflow crowd for weekend Masses.
“Typically, if you get here right at the time that Mass starts, you might have to find a seat out in the narthex,” Groves said. “Previously, we did have windows into the narthex … but they were a little far up on the wall, and it was kind of difficult to really feel like you were part of the Mass experience if you were sitting in the narthex. Now, we’ve brought those windows all the way to the floor, so it’s a seamless experience now for the folks who have to sit in the narthex.”
Other renovations included putting in new flooring and making the building more “aesthetic,” Groves said.
“We took out the floor and put in polished concrete, and it’s gorgeous now, and the acoustics are so much better for our musicians,” Groves said. “We have a new presider chair; just some basic aesthetic upgrades to the space to make it even more inviting and more beautiful for the students to come here and worship.”
Groves said the renovations were needed to try to best utilize the available space.
“There’s only really so much we can do with the building space we have,” Groves said. “We are a growing community, and we are trying to do the best we can with what we’ve got here, but we’re not looking at bumping out the building. We do love our space, but us all fitting during Mass is the most important thing. No matter how much we grow … we wouldn’t be able to add any reasonable amount of space to accommodate people.”
Wayzata, M.N., sophomore Tatum Bomier has been a part of the St. Peter community since her senior year of high school. She said when she first visited, she felt the connection.
“I was excited to be a part of that growth of community, enrichment of the community, and there’s just so many new and upcoming things that they have been offering last year and this year that has been bringing many students,” Bomier said. “I think a lot of students come to Baylor searching for that [community], and I think many Catholics are surprised to find that there are so many Catholics here at Baylor.”
Bomier said she has also noticed the Catholic Student Association grow through many of the programs St. Peter offers.
“CSA has [grown],” Bomier said. “They do weekly rosaries. The men’s and women’s ministries [has grown] and Bear Awakening is the big retreat. There’s just been such an increase in attendance … I’m excited to see them expand the church more one day in the future.”
