On a hot, sunny day in late July, workmen found a shady spot to cut siding for a west-facing wall of the Leo C. Byrne Residence in St. Paul. Their work is one task on a list of repair and renovation needs at the residence for retired priests.

Built in 1995, the 29-apartment residence located next to The St. Paul Seminary needs stucco and other exterior work; a new roof; balcony repairs; upgrades to lighting, heating and cooling systems; repairs for water damage; updates to apartments and to the building’s kitchen, dining room, community room and laundry facilities; and door and window replacement, in part to improve energy efficiency. The chapel on the third floor will be renovated. Work is expected to be completed by spring 2024.

“I like to say that we’re bringing it into the 21st century,” said Father Patrick Kennedy, a resident and a trustee of the Byrne Residence Charitable Trust, which owns, maintains and operates the residence. Replacing windows with more energy-efficient ones is “probably the biggest part of the project,” he said.

Renovations are needed now because the building has been neglected along the way for a variety of reasons, Father Kennedy said. “This is a real opportunity to not only bring it up to snuff, but to provide for the next generation of priests who will live here.”

In an interview for The Catholic Spirit in November 2021, Deacon Phillip Stewart, administrator for the Byrne Residence, said about 80% of the priests at the residence remain active in ministry in some capacity, such as helping with Masses and confession. “Or they might do special Masses or services for friends or relatives or other parishioners they’ve known over the years,” he said.

As of Aug. 15, Deacon Stewart will reduce his time at the Byrne Residence, and Father Kennedy will assume the administrator role on an interim and volunteer basis.

People driving down the street may not notice a difference once renovations are complete, Father Kennedy said. “But when you walk through the building or when people move into the building, hopefully they will be able to plug things in and turn lights on that will last (longer),” he said, in part due to use of LED technology. And though “no one looks at boilers,” the new ones will be “much more efficient” than the ones installed in 1995, Father Kennedy said.

In late 2021, Michelle and Patrick Fox, parishioners of St. Olaf in Minneapolis, led a fundraising campaign — using announcements from the pulpit and in parish bulletins, and special envelopes in the pews — which raised about $1.5 million for repairs from parishioners across Minnesota.

This fundraising effort has been further strengthened by a group of generous donors who have come forward and are helping to meet the $6.5 million goal, along with raising additional funds to create an endowment to help cover future capital expenditures at the residence, said Father Kennedy.

Father Jack Long, 73, retired five years ago and first lived at a rectory for three years with two other priests. “It was a good community,” he said, but he could no longer “handle the steps.” So, he moved to the Byrne Residence because, as he said, “I’d rather come in when I’m healthy.”

Father Long has known many in the building for years; he and Father Kennedy, for example, went through the seminary together 50 years ago, he said.

He likes that “if you desire community, you can find it in the building.”

“You can go up to the reading room, you can go have dinner, lunch, breakfast, and if you want to be isolated, you can do that as well,” Father Long said.

Father Long also values the building’s central location, including to both downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. And he loves walking the sidewalks at the nearby University of St. Thomas campus.

“I have my own route,” he said. Walking from his apartment to the chapel at St. Thomas is one mile.

About the renovations, Father Long said the Byrne Residence is a great place, and while there were inconveniences, “it’s all right.”

Father Long retired after serving five years as pastor of St. Stephen and 12 years at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park. He also served as pastor at then-St Joseph in Hopkins (now St. Gabriel), and before that, taught at St Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights and served Hill Murray in Maplewood. Sometimes, Father Long sees a student on campus whose home parish he used to serve. He’ll ask how the student’s classes are going. “And then you always have to throw out ‘Are you getting to Mass on Sunday?’” he said.

The Byrne Residence “is a good place,” Father Long said.

Anonymous donor matching donations up to $2 million

The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota is managing trust funds that are paying for renovations and ongoing maintenance at the Leo C. Byrne Residence in St. Paul. The funds balance and commitments total nearly $6 million today, but according to its website, $11 million is needed for repairs and to fund ongoing maintenance at the residence for retired priests.

An anonymous donor recently announced a donations match of up to $2 million made to the Leo C. Byrne Residence Maintenance Fund managed by the foundation. To learn more and to donate, visit ccf-mn.org/byrneresidence.