Priests who live at the Villas at St. Therese in Columbus say they’re grateful for the opportunity to continue to work for God and the Church in a stable, faith-based atmosphere at the residential community, a ministry of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm
“After spending 20 years as a chaplain in the Navy moving from place to place, this has become home to me,” said Father Frank Stanton, a priest for 64 years, who has lived at the Villas since moving there in 2008 to help care for his brother, the late Father Joseph Stanton.
“I had no intention of coming here after I retired from active ministry, but one thing led to another, and after Joe died in 2010, I decided this was where I wanted to stay.”
“Living at the Villas is one way retirement allows me to continue all the good and fun stuff about being a priest, like celebrating Mass and hearing confessions, without having to deal with the administrative responsibilities of being a pastor,” said Father Stan Benecki, a priest for 38 years and a resident of the Villas since July 2018.
Father Benecki said he celebrates Mass four or five times a month at Gahanna St. Matthew Church and also has helped at Columbus St. Mary Magdalene (where he was pastor before retirement), Groveport St. Mary, Columbus Ss. Augustine & Gabriel, Columbus St. Stephen the Martyr, Columbus St. Aloysius, Columbus St. James the Less and Columbus Christ the King churches since moving to the Villas.
Because he has a conversational knowledge of French, he says Mass in that language at Christ the King for members of the area’s Congolese Catholic community and has taken lessons to better understand the language.
“It’s great to be able to help other parishes by saying Mass elsewhere,” Father Benecki said. “And it’s easy because the sacristan usually has set up everything in advance, and all I have to do is celebrate Mass, turn off the lights, clean up and lock the door.
“When I lived at St. Mary Magdalene, I was rattling around in a rectory built for six priests and things were far away from each other,” he said. “Here the dimensions are much more comfortable. For instance, my apartment is much closer to the laundry room here than it was elsewhere, and that’s important because I have mobility issues. And there’s always a staff member available if I need help. I’m not alone as I would be in a rectory.”
Father Michael Nimocks, a priest since being ordained at age 54 in 1996 and a resident of the Villas since June 2013, helps out on weekends at Columbus Holy Spirit and St. Philip churches and also has said Mass at Groveport St. Mary, Columbus Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Newark St. Francis de Sales and Grove City Our Lady of Perpetual Help churches, as well as Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in his former hometown of Buckeye Lake, where he was fire chief before discerning his vocation to the priesthood.
“I’m going to be saying Mass anyway, so I might as well help out if I’m needed,” he said. “I’m happy to go wherever I’m called.”
Msgr. Frank Meagher also lives at the Villas. Father Jerome Stluka lives next door at the Mother Angeline McCrory skilled nursing facility.
Health reasons prevent Father Stanton from celebrating Mass elsewhere, but he and Fathers Benecki and Nimocks concelebrate Mass each Wednesday morning at the Villas. Masses there on Thursdays through Sundays are celebrated by Father Michael Lumpe, who recently was appointed chaplain of both the Villas and McCrory Manor and is diocesan vicar for senior and infirm priests. There is a communion service at the Villas on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Villas opened in 1999, and McCrory Manor, named for the founder of the Carmelite sisters who operate the facility, followed in 2005. The Carmelites have served senior citizens in Columbus since 1948, when they came to the city to operate St. Raphael’s and St. Rita’s homes for the aged, which were closed once the newer facilities opened.
The Villas are divided into areas for people who can live independently and for those needing assistance with everyday tasks. The four priests at the facility all have apartments in the independent living area.
When the onset of COVID shut down most aspects of everyday life in mid-March 2020, including the public celebration of Masses, it had a significant impact on those in assisted living because they were prevented from going outside their rooms, while those living independently could move around the building. Once visitors were allowed into the assisted living area, continuing restrictions required them for many months to remain behind a plexiglass shield when talking with residents.
“That was a difficult time for the priests here, because we’re used to helping people, and we couldn’t do very much of that,” Father Nimocks said. “When restrictions on Mass started easing after Pentecost Sunday (May 31) in 2020, everyone was happy to have Sunday and later daily Masses resume.
“Most people didn’t have a problem with the sanitation effects related to hand washing and wearing of masks which the diocese and state required. The biggest adjustment was no longer receiving from the chalice during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I don’t know if that ever will come back.”
“We all missed having people come from outside during the time in the early stages of COVID when no visitors were allowed,” Father Benecki said. “People still have to check in when they arrive here.”
“All this restriction was understandable because no one at the beginning knew what COVID was or how it was transmitted,” Father Nimocks said. “Things have eased up now, but there’s always a sense of caution.”
“It didn’t take me to long to get cabin fever after COVID started,” Father Stanton said. “I don’t go out as much as the other priests here but missed going to a niece’s house for big family dinners. I haven’t been back there since things started closing down. And I missed being able to say Mass for the 2 ½ months when we couldn’t.”
At one time, there were as many as 10 priests living in either the independent or assisted living areas of the Villas, and Mass was celebrated there every morning. The Mass schedule was reduced because several of those priests have died.
Like their counterparts elsewhere in the diocese, the priests at the Villas say they’re glad to no longer be handling the administrative aspects of pastoral life.
“Sitting at a desk and dealing with bills isn’t what you’re thinking of when you’re discerning the priesthood,” Father Nimocks said. “You’re ordained so you can be with people and help with their spiritual needs. I don’t think Our Lord sat down and had big planning meetings with the Apostles, but then, they were right there with Him anyway.”
“It’s great not dealing with paperwork and no longer being the boss and having the buck stop with you, but you do miss the daily relationships with people and things such as parish festivals or baptisms and confirmations that are big events for individual families and the parish family,” Father Benecki said.
“But I’ve found a new circle of friends here and had a chance to get to know them for the long term as I see them every day.”
Father Nimocks said he began planning to move to the Villas two years in advance of his retirement. He had sold his Buckeye Lake home to fulfill the requirement of being debt-free while studying for the priesthood, so he knew he would be looking for a place to live after retiring. Even with the early planning, he had to live elsewhere for a year until a spot at the Villas opened up.
“I really like it here because you’re on East Broad Street and just off Interstate 270, but you don’t hear the traffic,” he said. “You’re in your own world, where you see deer and turkeys roaming around, and you have a feeling of peace.”
Father Benecki was more fortunate than Father Nimocks in finding living space at the Villas. He learned of an opening six months before retirement so began paying for his apartment a half-year before becoming a resident. “I knew I’d eventually need to live in a facility where assistance would be available, so it was nice to come to a place like this,” he said.
“It’s well-kept and nicely appointed, with a friendly staff and residents who mostly are very sociable. One big advantage is that all the rooms open into a corridor of the building rather than to the outside, so you run into other residents more often. There’s also always somebody at the front desk to receive packages, and that’s important for security. Plus, you’re close to Mount Carmel East Hospital, and the presence of the sisters and of all sorts of other reminders that you’re in a Catholic facility are comforting.”
