The Story
In 2005 Bishop Finn entrusted Old St. Patrick to the care of the Institute of Christ the King in Kansas City, Missouri. The Oratory borrowed $1.3 million for the renovation and the members contributed approximately $500,000 in volunteer labor over the next three years. Bishop Finn solemnly consecrated the church on October 25th 2008.
It has been the ardent desire of the Oratory for over fifteen years to have a social hall. But the consensus was that it would be prudent to pay off the church loan before any new construction was started. Since the loan has been paid in full, we have been looking at options for a social hall. Under Canon Altiere, an architectural and construction company developed plans for a modern style building with a smaller floor plan at a cost of $2.5 million. This was prior to the escalated construction costs of 2021-2022. In 2024 under Canon Stein, another construction plan was made for a social hall to be built south of the Oratory that would blend with the historic architectural design of Old St. Patrick.
The construction plan of the new social hall would be traditional in design and be a beautiful compliment to historical Old St. Patrick Oratory. The plan included renovated parking and extensive landscaping of the church grounds. The new construction would provide the church with 12,000 SF to be used for social events and offices at a cost of $8.5 million. The construction plan came very close to becoming reality.
Divine Providence, however, intervened and changed our course. While researching the immediate area for additional parking, there were conversations with VanTrust Real Estate company who owns much of the property in the area of the Oratory. Though not for sale on the public market, VanTrust made an offer for the Institute to purchase the historical landmark known as the Ozark National Life / Old Public Library Building located west of the Oratory at 500 East Ninth Street for a price of $3.4 million.
With this real estate purchase by the Institute of Christ the King, the Oratory owns an entire city block in downtown Kansas City with 60,000 SF to be used for conferences, social events, classes and offices. This gives the Oratory 5 times the space at about 1/3 of the cost of the proposed new construction. The building will be available for use much sooner than a new social hall which had a two year construction schedule.
Ozark National Life Insurance Company is the current tenant in the building. The income from the tenant and potential future tenants will be used to offset the purchase price, maintenance, utilities, and generate future income for the Oratory.