As you may recall from the last Renovation Update, the major issue facing the committee has been to find a solution for housing for both the priests and sisters. The criteria has always been (a) to find housing either on the parish campus or close to it, (b) that the housing be above average, and (c) the donations from parishioners be used wisely for whatever solution was selected. Over a dozen solutions were closely examined and had to be turned down because they did not meet one or more of the three criteria.

As most of you know, Fr. Gary now has moved out of the Rectory to his private residence. Unfortunately, Fr. Robert became ill and now resides in Wisconsin. This left Fr. John and Brother Joe as the only residents of St. Joseph’s Rectory. This opened up an additional solution which meets our criteria thanks to the generosity of Fr. Glen, Fr. John, and Brother Joe. Over the next six weeks, three separate moves will take place and we will need the help of the parish for the moves as well as some additional activities. The plan is:

• This past week, Fr. Glen began moving out of the Visitation Rectory and will move into the apartment in the Visitation Parish Center. This is a very unselfish act and one that we are grateful to Fr. Glen for doing. Please tell him how much you appreciate this as this removes a major obstacle to proceeding with our renovation plans.
• Beginning next week, some small renovations will occur at the Visitation Rectory to accommodate Fr. John and Brother Joe. These renovations should be completed in about one week.
• Following the renovations, Fr. John and Brother Joe will move into the Visitation Rectory. We may need parishioners to assist with this move. Details concerning an exact date will be forthcoming.
• Once Fr. John and Brother Joe are settled in the Visitation Rectory, a renovation of the existing St. Joseph’s Rectory will begin as this will become the new Convent for Sr. Joan and Sr. Jean Marie. A walk through of both facilities will be completed to determine what items such as appliances will either be moved from the present Convent or replaced. Additionally, items such as painting and carpeting will be completed along with a possible structural modification. More details on the schedule and what parishioners can do to help will be forthcoming.
• At the completion of the renovation, the sisters will move across the campus and we will need assistance with the relocation.

We hope all the above activities can be completed by October 7. We also hope that during this period of time, construction will begin on the addition to the west end of the Messmer Center that will be the replacement for the Storage Building. One this is complete, the equipment will be moved to the addition and both the existing storage building and old Convent will be razed to make room for Church construction.

This solution meets all of the Renovation Committee’s criteria and is acceptable to all of the priests involved as well as the sisters. A later phase in the Renovation Project will address the construction of a new Rectory for a future Pastor and Associate Pastor.