Visitor Welcome

A Century of Encounters

For nearly 100 years, St. John's Catholic Newman Center has served as a catalyst of encounters with God for thousands of students at the University of Illinois. Having undergone three major renovations since it's dedication in 1927, St. John's Chapel has served as a home away from home for the Catholic Illini who come to study, live, and grow here.

The chapel's most recent renovation, completed in October 2023, is detailed in our digital booklet Encounter: A Look at the Restored Beauty of St. John's Catholic Chapel. Click the button below to learn more about the Chapel's history and unique architectural features.

Encounter: A Look at the Restored Beauty of St. John's Catholic Chapel

Visitors to St. John's Chapel are able to receive a plenary indulgence, that is "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven (CCC 1471)."

Conditions for Receiving an Indulgence

• Be in a state of grace, and have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin
• While in the Chapel:
  • Pray one Our Father and the Creed
  • Pray for the intentions of the Pope with one Our Father and one Hail Mary
  • Receive Holy Communion
• Within 7-10 days:
  • Receive the sacrament of Confession at any Catholic Church

St. John's Catholic Newman Center is one of six dedicated pilgrimage sites in the Diocese of Peoria 150th Anniversary Celebration.

Peoria

Galesburg

Moline

Utica

Nauvoo