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Diocesan Church Bishop Raymond Lucker Lecture Series established - Morneau first presenter
Parish Life
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Special Report Catholic school leaders are asking how can we best use our centers of faith and knowledge?
Education Sr. Rosemarie Whitehead to keynote catechist day Diocesan Lay Ministry Scholarship Fund renewed NUDCCW scholarships offer variety of opportunities for leadership enrichment
Worship & Spiritual Life Fast from food, violence, apathy - linking Ash Wednesday to Ground Zero
Calendar February Formation & Education Calendar
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Diocese of New Ulm - February 2002 by Mark Kemmeter As I drive around the Diocese of New Ulm or anywhere in the country, for that matter, I always imagine what places looked like fifty or one hundred or two hundred years ago. The people who walked or who rode on those roads would surely be surprised by what they would find today. It is always fascinating to hear stories about what "main street" looked like years ago or that "this is the third building at the same site." As a diocese, New Ulm is relatively new, founded in 1957. It is still developing. This development is usually most evident in the buildings that house the administration and ministries of the diocese, quite similar to what could be observed in cities or businesses around the country. The Diocesan Pastoral Center, located on 6th North Street, is still often referred to as the Chancery. That is because it was originally designed to serve as the Bishop’s residence and office. Over the years, the Chancery building incorporated various diocesan offices and ministries to the point where it became more of a Center for diocesan ministries than a residence. For example, the main conference room in the building was located in the recreation room in the residence and any large gathering of staff had to take place in the living room. The original designers of the building had no idea how the space would be used forty years later. Prior to his retirement, Bishop Lucker asked the diocesan staff to prepare housing alternatives for the new bishop because, in all likelihood, he would not want to live where he worked. In most dioceses, the Bishop’s residence is separate from the building where his office is located. Since the diocese was developing land adjacent to the Diocesan Center, a lot was targeted for a private residence. Locating the house in a residential area, rather than on diocesan property, also assured that the house could be easily resold. The land that the diocese is developing is part of a nearly 100 acre tract southwest of the Diocesan Center. The land was originally purchased with the intention that it could be used to build a diocesan seminary and possibly a new cathedral. As the city of New Ulm expanded and began developing streets and highways in the adjacent area, the need to resolve the future use of the land became more urgent. Bishop Lucker chose to develop the land for housing and, rather than selling the land to a developer, to have the diocese develop the land. The Oak Bluffs first edition has presently sold 18 of the original 30 lots of the 15 acre tract. The cost of developing the subdivision with sewer, water, gas and electrical service was $400,000 alone. There have been additional costs to survey and maintain the lots. These costs can be passed on to the lot owners when they are sold but, in the meantime, the diocese is responsible for payments on the assessments. When all of the lots are sold, a profit will be realized. How those funds will be used has not yet been determined but they could very well be used toward future developments. The diocese has begun construction on a new Bishop’s residence, located at 720 Loretto Drive with a bluff view overlooking the city of New Ulm and the Cathedral. The public areas of the home will allow the Bishop to entertain groups from the diocese. The cost of the home and its furnishings, when all of the landscaping is completed, will be less than $200,000. Financing was achieved through a very favorable 20 year mortgage which is less than the diocese’s rate of return on its investments. The move will also result in energy savings as the Diocesan Center, which is on one heating and cooling system, can be modified for evenings and weekends. The home is expected to be livable in March, with some exterior work to be completed as weather permits. The use of the additional space at the Diocesan Center will be studied extensively over the next months. One of the greatest needs is for private meeting and conference rooms. At present, there is only a minimum amount of storage space. There is also the potential that some activity that took place at the Center for Spiritual Development, in Bird Island, could be moved to New Ulm. The Center for Spiritual Development, Bird Island, will be closing on March 1. For over twenty years, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mankato province, sponsored the Center with the diocese. The order ended their sponsorship in June of 2001. Two members of the staff, Sisters Julia Maria Bathon, O.S.F. and Anne Marie Diederich, O.S.U., graciously agreed to continue the operation of the Center. In December, it became clear that the Center could not operate without an additional monthly subsidy from the diocese. The Priests’ Council recommended that the Center be closed and the building be put up for sale. The Center will officially close on February 28. All diocesan meetings after that date will move to St. Aloysius, Olivia or to other sites. Discussion is beginning with other centrally-located parishes as future sites for diocesan meetings. As part of his transition as our new bishop, Bishop Nienstedt is taking a long-term view of the property and buildings so that they are used and maintained well and are part of a well-thought out plan. It can certainly be said that the buildings in the diocese have been stewarded well but that the needs of the past may not be the needs of the future. It is interesting to speculate what kind of stories will be told down the road about "those houses where there were once fields of corn" or of "being there when the Bishop’s house was built." One message is very clear: these are signs that the diocese is entering a new era. Mark Kemmeter is the Coordinator of Staff for the Diocese of New Ulm.
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