Sue Paterno wouldn’t choose to see her name on a building, Bishop Joseph V. Adamec said Tuesday morning.
And so, the Rev. Adamec explained, he had to convince her.
He said he convinced her that “she has a legacy of her own” — that is, a legacy in addition to the one she shares with her husband, Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno.
Her legacy includes the faithful witness and testimony she has borne through her commitment to Catholicism, Adamec said, addressing more than 100 people in East College Heights.
They had gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Catholic student center that’s under construction there. Leaders announced earlier this week that it will carry Sue Paterno’s name; the facility is to be dubbed the Suzanne Pohland Paterno Catholic Student Faith Center.
“Beyond her earthly journey, she will continue to bear that witness and that testimony” for generations to come, Adamec said.
Sue and Joe Paterno are serving as honorary co-chairs for the $6.5 million campaign for the center; they also have supported and contributed to the effort. The 22,000-square-foot facility, near the northeast corner of North Allen Street and East Park Avenue in State College, is expected to be under construction for about 14 months.
In a prepared statement, church leaders said they hope the center will be complete in time for the Penn State Catholic Campus Ministry’s 50th anniversary in 2012. Already, the capital campaign, led by Eddie Lauth, has generated more than $4.5 million, according to a ministry press release.
Adamec said the center will be an oasis where Catholic Penn State students may “regenerate” in their faith and strike a balance in their academic careers. It will provide a space where they can know “the Creator and … how to live,” he said.
Plans include a chapel, reconciliation rooms, a library, a project work area, a kitchen and a residence for Benedictine monks. It will be a privately organized facility of the Catholic Campus Ministry, legally separate from the university itself.
“Keep up the good work. We need that kind of environment; we need that kind of inspiration,” Joe Paterno said at the groundbreaking Tuesday morning. Numerous members of the Paterno family attended, as well as Penn State President Graham Spanier and State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham.
Joe Paterno spoke for several minutes, apparently without notes, though traffic on Park Avenue at times obscured his voice. Among other remarks, he said that the U.S. is going to face difficult times ahead, illustrated in part by suicide rates in the military ranks.
“We’ve got a job ahead of us,” Joe Paterno said, praising the role of efforts like the faith center.
He also delivered effusive praise for his wife. Sue Paterno, he said, has done marvelous work with Penn State students and fields prayer requests from people across Pennsylvania who face hardships.
“She says to me: ‘How do I say no?’” Joe Paterno said. “I say to her: ‘Well, can you pronounce’ their names?’”
On a more somber note, Joe Paterno said that the family “is very proud of what she has done.
“I’ve done nothing, actually,” he went on. ” … She reaches out … to anybody who needs help.”
He called Sue Paterno the family leader and “an inspiration to anyone around her.”
“Thanks on behalf of the family. We love you, honey,” Joe Paterno said. “We are proud of you. And we pray for you.”
Sue Paterno, a volunteer and philanthropic leader in organizations such as the Special Olympics and the United Way, did not speak during the groundbreaking ceremony. But Father Matthew Laffey, director of the Catholic Campus Ministry, said the project would not have been possible without her support.
He said the building name recognizes not only her work for the facility, but also “what she’s done for the students all the time. It’s a recognition of what she’s done for our community all the time. It’s a recognition of what she does for anyone who asks — all the time.”
Sue Paterno has been involved in the area’s Catholic community for 40 years, Laffey said. He thanked her for allowing the public recognition of her deeds. Her volunteer work over the years has included commitments to a library expansion, the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center and other university fundraising drives.
But it was her husband who said he needed prayerful support on Tuesday. He left the groundbreaking ceremony early so that he could prepare for football press conferences later in the day, he said.
“I’ve got to go home and prepare my lies,” Joe Paterno said.
Earlier coverage
