The University of Southern California has announced a $6 million gift from Rick and Tina Caruso for the construction of a new Catholic church and community center on campus.

With the gift, USC has now raised more than $16 million of the $24 million needed to build and endow the project, which will replace an existing church and community center on campus. Overseen by a liturgical committee and the Caruso family's real estate development company, Caruso Affiliated, the new includes a European-style limestone church that will seat up to 350, a courtyard and events plaza, and USC-themed red brick buildings with a bell tower. The facility will function as a true community center, with space available for special events, neighborhood meetings, and classroom instruction. There are approximately ten thousand Catholic students at USC.

"This design is in a class by itself, and so befitting USC," said Fr. Lawrence Seyer, pastor of the university's Our Savior Parish. "With this new design, the church will be the heart and soul of the center. And that is clearly what our students and community need and deserve."