Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
August 9, 2000
Archdiocese studies retirement home for priests
By Roxanne King
The archdiocese is studying the possibility of building its first ever retirement home for priests, Church officials said.
The proposed facility, tentatively called St. Raphael Catholic Center, would include a series of four-plex units of one bedroom apartments linked to a common building, said Dennis Russell, secretary for Finance, Administration and Planning. The common building would include a chapel, kitchen, dining room, library, recreation room and exercise room.
An assisted living facility for priests and laity, would also be linked to the common building and retirement center.
The phased project would eventually include a long-term skilled care and dementia facility for both priests and laity and, ultimately, lay independent living units.
The archdiocese is modeling its facility on one built by the diocese of Wichita, Kan.
"We're just looking at the feasibility of this," Russell said. "What we want to create is a `continuum of care facility' for the priests and the lay community of the archdiocese."
Phase one of the project, which would include the priests' retirement home, the common building and an assisted living facility offering some long-term skilled care, could be completed within five years. Estimated cost for phase one is $30 million, Russell said.
"We're just now putting costs and financing together," he said, adding that feasibility study results are scheduled to be presented to priests the end of September.
"If the presbyterate give us a green light, we'll keep pushing down the road," Russell said. "We could start construction in two years if zoning and financing go smoothly."
The facility would be built on diocesan owned land. Possible locations include property at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, property adjacent to the new Holy Family High School in Broomfield and property at the new Catholic cemetery at E-470 and Highway 30 in Arapahoe County.
Money designated for priests' retirement from the Hearts on Fire campaign fund and other archdiocesan funds would be used to build the priests' retirement home. The assisted living facility would be financed via bond money, Russell said.
An aging priesthood as well as greater numbers of senior citizens in the general population were the impetus behind the project, Russell said.
Of 155 diocesan priests, 109 are over 50, according to the planning office. Average retirement age is 70. Currently, 25 priests are retired.
"The archdiocese has been talking about this for 50 years, according to the priests," Russell said. "We are to the point where we can't ignore it, from the numbers and our responsibility to the priests."
Retired Father Bob Nevans, liaison between Archbishop Charles Chaput and retired priests, said he is encouraging priests to support the project.
"We don't have a priests' home to retire to," he said. "There are not many places for us to go to and nothing's ever been done. Archbishop Chaput wants to do something to have a place for retired priests to go to live. A lot of us have been petitioning for that."
Options for diocesan priests include retiring into an apartment or a retirement home for the general population. Local Catholic retirement homes are meant for laity and offer few openings to priests. Order priests in the diocese have their own retirement options.
Father Nevans, 79, lives at Cathedral Plaza, a retirement home for the laity operated by the Archdiocesan Housing Committee. He likes his arrangement because it provides him with the opportunity to serve the laity by celebrating Mass and administering other sacraments.
"I think some (priests) would rather be living in community someplace," Father Nevans said. "Someplace where they could eat their meals together and have someone to talk to, not just be in an apartment. Priests don't have a family to retire to like the ordinary man who has a wife and children. They would be with the people they spent their life with."
The proposed facility would provide both the opportunity to live in community with other priests, as well as offer an opportunity to serve the laity.
"I think it can develop into a wonderful thing," Father Nevans said. "The one in Wichita extended into assisted living and now has an Alzheimer's unit. There's a great need for assisted living places."
As aging priests gradually need more care, the design of the proposed facility would allow them to make the transition to those areas more easily, Russell said.
"The key to this continuum of care is `aging in place,'" he said. "Among the things the aging face are uncertainty and loneliness. Moves create anxiety. That's why this `aging in place' is so important."
The facility would offer peace of mind to priests, Russell added.
"We want them to know (retirement) is something they don't have to worry about. We want this to be an option — a facility where they can age gracefully with dignity and with a Catholic community around them," he said. "We owe them so much for giving their lives in service to the Church."
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