Bishop Jaime Soto will preside at a funeral Mass for Salvatorian Father Michael Newman on Saturday, March 10 at 10 a.m. in St. John the Baptist Church, located at 435 Chestnut St. in Chico. Father Newman died in Chico on March 1 of natural causes at Enloe Medical Center after being in failing health for the past few months. He was 79.
A vigil rosary will be held on Friday, March 9 at 7:45 p.m. (following Stations of the Cross) in Our Divine Savior Parish, located at 566 E. Lassen Ave. Following the funeral Mass, a graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. at Glen Oaks Cemetery, located at 11115 Midway in Chico. A reception will follow the funeral Mass at Our Divine Savior Parish.
A native of Milwaukee, Wis., his family belonged to Mother of Good Counsel Parish, a ministry of the Society of Divine Savior priests and brothers in the parish and Salvatorian sisters in the school. Following elementary school, he entered the Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz, Wis. He spent his novitiate year in Colfax, Iowa, and professed his vows as a Salvatorian there on Sept. 8, 1960.
His theological studies were done at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Md., and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 9, 1967. In addition to his degree in theology, he also earned a master’s degree in music.
Father Newman’s first taste of ministry to youth and young adults came while he was still a seminarian in Washington, D.C., assigned to work with youth groups in local parishes. Following his ordination, he was assigned to California, which would become “home” for the rest of his life. He taught music at the former St. Pius X Seminary in Galt for four years, and for part of that time he also taught music and religion at St. Mary High School in Stockton.
His ministry took a turn from teaching to pastoral ministry when he served from 1972 to 1975 as associate pastor of St. Anne Parish in Lodi, followed by six years, from 1975 to 1981, as associate director of youth ministry and the Catholic Youth Organization for the Diocese of Sacramento.
In November 1981, he become director of campus ministry for the Newman Catholic Center at California State University-Sacramento, where he would serve until 1993. He also served as director of campus ministry for the Sacramento Diocese from 1982 to 1993. In 1993, he became director of the Newman Catholic Center at California State University-Chico, where he served until his retirement in 2006.
Throughout these years, Father Newman not only ministered in his regular assignments, but also as a member of the Presbyteral Council of the diocese; as state chaplain for both the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas; as area coordinator for Salvatorian priests and brothers in Northern California; and as regional moderator of all of the Salvatorian family in Northern California. He also served as vice president and president of the National Association of Diocesan Directors of Campus Ministry and as a member of the Committee on Education for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Immediately after his retirement in 2006, he was elected to serve on the Salvatorians’ U.S Provincial Council, where he served until 2009. Throughout his retirement years, he celebrated Masses in parishes throughout Northern California, and continued to support interfaith and community organizations in Chico, where he resided. He also spent summers studying and working in England and ministered as a chaplain on cruise ships.
“While he may have stopped teaching music years ago, it was his life that became the song – the song of a happy priest who celebrated life and faith with the people in his ministry,” said Salvatorian Father Michael R. Hoffman, U.S. province archivist in Milwaukee. “Father Mike endeared himself to thousands of people throughout his priestly life. He brought his many Newman Center students to a newfound enthusiasm for their Catholic faith during their college life. He presided at countless weddings, later celebrated the baptisms of their children, and then even later presided over those children’s marriages and their children’s baptisms. He was a multi-generational priest to many families."
Father Newman celebrated Masses for the past several years at Our Divine Savior Parish in Chico. Father R. Francis Stevenson, pastor of Our Divine Savior Parish in Chico, told The Chico Enterprise-Record March 2 “he was a tremendous help and people absolutely loved him.” Father Stevenson said he celebrated weddings, baptisms and funerals in Chico, along with helping other parishes. “We certainly are going to miss him,” he said.
Father Newman was preceded in death by his parents, Ambrose and Edna, and his brother, Thomas. He is survived by nieces and nephews and by his brothers and sisters in the Salvatorian family.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated on Friday, April 6 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Anne’s Chapel in Milwaukee.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be directed to “Adopt an Apostle,” c/o Salvatorians, 1735 Hi Mount Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53208. The proceeds will help to educate and form future Salvatorian priests and brothers who carry on the legacy of Father Newman and the Society of the Divine Savior’s mission.