Priests concelebrate the Diocese of Owensboro’s Chrism Mass on April 15, 2025, held at the Owensboro Sportscenter. ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC
A campaign to thank those who have dedicated their lives to our Church
In the mid-1980s, the Diocese of Owensboro erected the Bishop Cotton Apartments on land adjacent to the Carmel Home in Owensboro. The building included eight efficiency apartments for senior retired priests. In the four decades since then, dozens of our senior priests have lived there, often transitioning in time to the Carmel Home when their independence was limited and they required the nursing support offered there. The apartments were named for Bishop Francis R. Cotton, the first bishop of Owensboro, well-known to that generation of senior priests.
When I came to Owensboro as the diocese’s fourth bishop in 2010 there were still seven priests in residence there. Over the past few years, the Bishop Cotton Apartments have become a less desirable place for our retired priests. I recall the words of Bishop John J. McRaith, who oversaw the construction of the facility, when he moved there a couple years begore his death: “I wish I had known then what I know now.”
These small apartments were designed with little attention to the unique needs of aging people; even the bathroom for each unit was a small standard bath without any accommodations for someone with evolving disabilities.
For the last few years, we have had a conversation among our priests, especially those who might be coming up on retirement. After exploring the possibilities of a major and costly makeover, we came to realize it would be more economical to tear down this structure and erect a whole new building.
We propose to build a four-unit apartment building, each with about 1,000 square feet. They are designed to accommodate senior priests and will include an attached garage, a handicap accessible bathroom, bedroom, small kitchen and living room. The four units will connect to a small chapel. Several of our priests looking to retire within the next decade have expressed an interest in living there.
We have titled this campaign Faithful Foundations. To finance this project, I first invited our priests to be the initial contributors, for themselves perhaps but certainly for their brother priests. Within a month we received pledges of over $127,000 from 29 priests. Conversations with diocesan leaders have been encouraging. Many remark that they can think of few projects that would engender a more enthusiastic response than assuring our care for priests and religious as they age.
This month we begin to invite Catholics from across the diocese to express their gratitude to our priests for their years of ministry and service. We are currently working on raising $1.5 million to demolish the old apartment building, construct the four-unit facility, and have funds for future maintenance. There is space to build additional units as the need presents, and we would like our modest campaign to raise enough money to make that possible.
In the coming weeks we expect to make appeals to several hundred people and by October to have invited every Catholic in the diocese share. This is a campaign to say thank you to those who have dedicated their lives to service and prayer.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Most Reverend William F. Medley
Diocese of Owensboro
Related
Faithful: Senior priest apartments to provide community, support, for diocese’s aged clergy
Originally printed in the August 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
