The Newman Center, a campus catholic community church, drew in more students and parents than it could seat for yesterday's Easter Mass.

For some students, attending a campus Mass was ideal because they had to spend the Christian holiday away from home.

Caroline Donohue, a sociology senior, said going to Mass and having dinner with her friends is how she normally spends Easter. In a month she will also celebrate Greek Easter, because she is part Greek orthodox.

Donohue said for the last four years she has celebrated Easter away from her home in Washington, D.C., and this is the third year she attended Mass at the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center, 1615 East Second St.

In addition to celebrating Easter, the Catholic Newman Center also confirmed many students yesterday, in which people confirm their baptism and faith in God and promise to live their lives as Jesus would. Before being confirmed, participants learn about the tenets of their Catholic faith.

Sara Poulin, a physiology junior, said she was confirmed and her parents came to celebrate. Before she came to the UA, Poulin said she spent Easter at home in Santa Monica, Calif., and went to church every year.

Now that she's in college, Poulin said she likes the Catholic Newman Center and was happy to celebrate Easter there.

Although she likes the center, Poulin said it is different this year because she feels she will be closer to God than she has been in previous years because of her confirmation.

"The community is very welcoming; I love everyone here. I feel at home," Poulin said.

Sara Santa Cruz, a science freshman at Pima Community College, said she always celebrates Easter by going to the cathedral, but she was confirmed yesterday at the Catholic Newman Center. "It's a little bit more special every time," Santa Cruz said.

But not all students have been going to Easter Mass for their whole life and are finding their place in religion at the Catholic Newman Center now.

Candace Cutrufo, a senior majoring in Italian and journalism, said she was baptized into the church at the Catholic Newman Center a year ago. The year before she went to a cathedral in downtown Tucson and decided she wanted to become catholic. Two years ago she said she celebrated Easter in a non-religious way.

"We ate those marshmallow Peeps things. It was about eating and about eggs," Cutrufo said. "But now it's about God, and that's what we celebrate here at the Newman Center."