St. Francis Rectory Project

As we enter into the new year, we carry with us an excitement and energy for continuing the build-out of the campus grounds at Saint Francis Church and Saint Francis of the Lakes Catholic School. The next step will be to focus on providing a suitable home for our priests.

While beginning this new dimension of our building plans, we look back with great joy as we celebrate the completion of the “Building our Future in Christ” capital campaign. Because of your financial gifts and the good works of dedicated parishioners, Saint Francis has been transformed, adding many more beautiful spaces we can all enjoy and benefit from today. Thank you and Praise God!

Currently, our priests are living in an aged building, designed as a single-family home. Aside from the home’s challenging maintenance issues, it is far from an ideal layout for multiple men living in a community. There is limited opportunity for private prayer, counseling sessions, hosting bible study groups or dinners. Storage and bathroom space are quite limited, too. Perhaps most glaring is the inability to house visiting priests and seminarians.

As you may have observed, our Brainerd Lakes community has been a great source for fostering vocations to the priesthood and diaconate life. As priests and seminarians return home to visit family or celebrate mass, it’s not always convenient or even possible for them to stay with family. Many times, the best we can offer is a spot to “crash on the couch.” What if we could develop a multi-level rectory with enough bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate our returning or retired area priests? What if we can aid in the growth of our seminarians knowing they can stay in an environment that will encourage their spiritual formation? What if by increasing our rectory square footage we can create a private place for adoration, and separate areas for hosting small groups or retreats, designed to bring about a higher quality of life and encourage community amongst the clergy?

Through the committee’s deeper discussions, the project evolved beyond simply solving the short-term need of housing our priests to considering the broader vision for the entire campus. To successfully accomplish this vision, it became apparent the new rectory should not simply be another building on the block. It should be designed with the entire campus in mind, visually representing a comprehensive value from the outside, created to belong with the same fit and feel as the Church and School, and admired as a complement to the community.

Further addressing the long-term goals for the rectory and beyond, the committee began exploring considerations to vacate North 9th Street between the church and school. This would be a logical step for uniting the overall campus while increasing the safety of our students and school staff who travel across the street to attend Mass 3 days a week. Closing the street would solve several permitting issues related to the rectory build, allowing for the opportunity to rezone our property. Rezoning the campus will also continue to offer the church and school more flexibility for future expansion projects. As our team members engaged with various city officials, we were encouraged by the level of optimism and acceptance from city staff of the street vacation proposition.

We shared the news of the street vacation and current rectory design with renderings and costs at the new parishioner welcome at St. Francis on December 14th. Father Michael covered the brief history outlined here and the future vision. These initial details were met with enthusiasm, positivity, and much excitement!

Current Site Description St. Francis owns all three buildings north of the church on North 9th Street, extending to Ivy Street. The one closest to the church now serves as the rectory. None of these buildings satisfy the needs articulated above.

St. Francis formed a rectory committee of parishioners about two years ago to investigate options. The committee includes architects, surveyors, and contractors. The group has met regularly, spending hours analyzing the many different variables associated with this project. The research included costs to renovate one or more of the three existing structures vs deconstructing and erecting a new building. After reviewing the regulations, permits, restrictions, and total costs, under the guidance of our Diocesan Build Committee (which oversees all building projects within the Diocese), the committee began to move towards a recommendation of deconstruction and building new on the corner of North 9th Street and Ivy Street.

We will be developing a master plan for how this “new” landscape can be designed and tied together with the complete campus of St. Francis church and school. Considerations include replacing the parking that is currently used along North 9th Street and adjustments for school pickup. Through this development process, there will be many opportunities to engage with parishioners and the community for feedback, address questions, and help plan.

Estimates for the build are trending towards $1.5 million to bring this to reality. The next steps regarding finances are to engage our Finance Council and retain “Guidance In Giving” (a reputable Catholic fundraising firm, hired this past summer to aid in the success of the “In the Spirit of All Saints” campaign) to review our plan and provide their analysis.

We are currently working with the city on the application process and will continue to provide updates and estimated timelines as we learn more. Anticipation remains that if all continues to be successful with the application and permit approvals, neighborhood and community support, along with a majority city council vote, we will be able to move forward in late spring with fundraising efforts for the rectory. A successful campaign which meets the threshold required by the diocese will allow construction to begin by this fall.

It is important to reflect on what this building will offer, beyond the elegance and aesthetics of curb appeal. Our parish has the opportunity to build a lasting foundation in our community to house our priests and seminarians today and for future generations.

Planning study

May 9, 2025

Dear St. Francis Parishioner and Visitors,

Background

Last month, you were invited to participate in a survey as part of a parish-wide planning study. The survey, made available through a mailed letter invitation, in-pew survey forms, and our website, asked questions to gather the thoughts and opinions of parishioners regarding the construction of the new Rectory. The survey was one component of a larger planning study conducted by our consulting firm, Guidance in Giving (GIG). In addition to the survey, GIG also conducted many personal interviews with a cross-section of parishioners. GIG was very happy with our level of participation, so thank you for your engagement and commitment to our parish! The final study is now complete and available in full on our website. I have included a summary of the results in this week’s bulletin.

An important note

The full report includes comments made by parishioners, however, there are a few inaccurate comments. We didn’t want to edit parishioner comments for accuracy, but we thought it important that you are aware of their inaccuracies as you read them. For example, some feedback included a desire for St. Francis and the School to focus on first paying off their debt. Please know that both St. Francis and the School are DEBT-FREE.

Takeaways from the study

In general, from the report, you can see that there is overwhelming support for proceeding with a truncated capital campaign to accomplish the Rectory Project. In hearing your feedback, we have been working with the Rectory Committee and leadership teams, making revisions and adjustments to the initial proposed building. This process has also helped guide the parish as we continue to navigate the process for a street vacation and site planning for a potential high school with the city.

Next Steps

With the feedback from the study and the consent of the Finance Council, GIG will continue to assist in developing a capital campaign for our Rectory Project. Over the next couple of weeks, the Rectory Committee will develop a Request for Proposal (RFP), review responses, and recommend a firm to the St. Francis Finance Council. The final amount to be raised will be determined based on further prayer, discussion, and evaluation of the building costs. Expect more information to come from this process with regard to timeline and future receptions, as the questions and concerns you raised in the survey will need to be answered. Thank you again for your ongoing candid and valuable feedback.

Grace & Peace,

Fr. Michael Garry

Pastor