Caring for Our Priest Shepherds

The construction of a priest retirement residence will provide our senior priests with the option to live in community with their brother priests
during their retirement years.

• A 12-unit independent living residence will be built in Olathe, Kansas.
• Key amenities will include access to a common living space, one prepared communal meal per day and a private 20-seat chapel.
• Once full capacity is reached, temporary accommodations may be arranged on a space available basis in the adjacent Santa Marta facility.
• Residents requiring a higher level of care (e.g., assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing) will have access to services offered by Santa Marta, as available, at a reduced rate (75% of private pay).
• An endowment to help offset the cost of operating the facility, as well as to provide for the ongoing capital needs of the building, will ensure that the retirement residence will be a sustainable and valuable resource for generations to come.

Further, an investment to bring the funding status of the priest pension plan up-to-date will provide stability for our senior priests in their retirement years. This initiative will provide retired priests with a modest increase in monthly income and will result in a reduction to the annual contribution to the plan.

The current annual contribution to the plan is more than $1,000,000. This includes the Priesthood Present and Future collection, the Archbishop’s Call to Share and endowment earnings. The annual contribution to the plan would be reduced by more than 50% (based on current benefits).

By the Numbers:
(As of March 30, 2018)

• 85 active priests and 28 retired priests in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
• 14 active priests over the age of 60.
• In a survey of Archdiocesan priests, 52% voted in favor of constructing a priest retirement residence.