Paul Miterko had a series of back injuries and surgeries at age 74. At one point, he needed a hoist to get him in and out of bed. Today at 80, he still has pain but he gets around using a walker. 

One benefit of mobility: He can walk to Mass on his own, using a covered walkway that connects Epiphany Senior Housing where he lives to Epiphany church in Coon Rapids. 

“I go every day if I can,” he said. “Going to Mass is very important to me.” 

Miterko is one of many Catholic seniors who look for proximity to a Catholic church, or Mass and other sacraments at an in-house chapel, as they decide where to live in retirement, or appreciate the convenience once they move in. 

Five years ago, Miterko moved to his current independent living apartment after considering another facility as well. Access to Mass factored into his decision, “and this place has a great set-up,” he said, referring to the walkway. 

“It is very convenient,” he said. The gregarious Miterko said he also makes a point to socialize a bit in the church office on his walk back from church to his apartment. 

Public Masses are temporarily suspended in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis because of the coronavirus pandemic. In normal times, Mass is held seven days a week at Epiphany.

About 60 percent of Epiphany residents are Catholic, said Jeanette Delich, executive director of the Epiphany Senior Housing Campus. Epiphany surveys every resident one to two months after they move in and then once a year. Many of the Catholic residents mention the campus’ proximity to the church as a factor in choosing to live there, Delich said. 

Access to a Catholic church was a big part of Arlaine Higgins’ decision to live in an independent living apartment at a Catholic Eldercare facility in northeast Minneapolis. She appreciates the fact that she can use a covered walkway to attend Mass at St. Hedwig church. 

 “I don’t have to worry about the weather,” said Higgins, who moved into her apartment nine years ago, shortly after her husband, Donald, died. Before his death, they had waited more than two years on a waiting list for a new place to call home.  

“That’s the way the Lord planned it,” said Higgins, 87. “He took care of me.” 

Higgins said she was familiar with her new Twin Cities neighborhood. She and her husband shared a home in the area during their 60 years of marriage. 

Going to Mass was always an important part of their lives, Higgins said, and they lived two blocks from St. Boniface church. Now, with public Masses suspended, she watches a televised Mass.

She also meets her three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren at the church on Sundays. They attend Mass and go out to breakfast. 

“I always say if I can’t be in my own home, this is the place where I want to be,” she said. “I am very blessed.”