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Now in its 125th year of existence, the Newman Club of Los Angeles continued its uninterrupted streak of 1,503 consecutive monthly meetings on Saturday with a get-together on the California campus of Thomas Aquinas College. Some 30 members and their spouses arrived in the morning for a campus tour followed by a reception and dinner the Dumb Ox Café.

Serving as the evening’s emcee was Club President Kirk Mulhearn, who introduced the featured speaker, Dr. John J. Goyette, the College’s vice president for advancement. Addressing the group, Dr. Goyette offered a reflection on Plato’s allegory of the cave and its correlation to Catholic liberal education. “The pursuit of wisdom is the most fitting activity for the man that is truly free, but it also prepares him to bear witness to the truth,” he said. “To be immersed in the world, but to avoid being dragged down by it … will require courage, especially the courage to speak the truth — about oneself, about the world, and about the Word through whom all things were made.”

Founded in 1899, the Newman Club of Los Angeles has extensive ties to Thomas Aquinas College, including three members who are also members of the College’s Board of Governors: Robert Barbera, Mark Montgomery, and Andrew Zepeda. Its members meet monthly to support each other spiritually, to pray for each other’s intentions, and to contemplate the works of their patron.

“The Newman Club is the longest continually running Catholic organization in Los Angeles, and possibly even California,” says Paul Blewett, the College’s director of gift planning. “It was an honor to welcome its members to campus and play our small role in extending their incredible record of perseverance and fidelity. We would be delighted to see this become a regular event.”