Taking a stand on holy ground

PERRYVILLE, Mo. - St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville was founded in 1818 by a small band of Italian Catholic priests. It was built as a place from which their order of Vincentian missionaries could carry out their vowed mandate to train priests and aid the poor of the region.

However, almost 190 years later, the very grounds that were founded as a center of peace for the region are now the subject of a debate between two Perryville natives. The argument hinges on the future of a historic but now-abandoned part of the seminary: two aging, empty buildings that are slated to be torn down to make way for a new home for retired priests.

Leo Rozier simply doesn't understand why this is being done.

Rozier, a 90-year-old lawyer, has lived and worked in Perryville all his life. His mother used to sew vestments for boys training at the seminary, and he, himself, donated years of free legal services to the institution. He sees St. Mary's as not only an important part of his own past, but as a vital landmark in the area's history, one that should be preserved. That's why when he heard two months ago that seminary officials planned to raze two of the compound's largest and most prominent buildings as a part of new development, he was taken aback.

"It's amazing," Rozier said. "They aren't using their assets properly. Certainly someone could find something to do with those buildings."

The buildings in question are two four-story dormitories that face each other on the quadrangle of the St. Mary's campus. On the western side stands the "novitiate" -- erected in the 1920s to house novice priests in training at the seminary. On the opposite side stands a building constructed in the 1930s as a home for lay students at the college, which was incorporated by the state in 1823. At one time, the two combined to house classrooms and living quarters for more than 130 young people at what was a bustling center of learning for the region. But when the college seminary closed in 1985 due to low enrollment, these two structures were left empty, used only for occasional retreats over the next 15 years.

Rozier looks at these stately buildings today, sees their seemingly solid yellow brick walls and green tile roofs and can think of no reason why they can't be used for another calling, specifically as a shelter for the poor of Southeast Missouri, a place where they could get a warm meal, clothes and a bed. He said that would simultaneously preserve two pieces of Perryville history, provide a much-needed service to the community and help the Vincentians carry out their mandate to aid the poor. As for the home for retired priests -- which Rozier is not necessarily against -- he said they could build it on another part of the more than 1,800 acres that the Vincentians own in Perryville, and save these historic buildings that Rozier said are in "great shape" and could last at least 20 more years.

Superior John Gagnepain, director of continuing formation at St. Mary's, said that he and, more importantly, the engineers disagree with Rozier's assessment. While these two buildings appear sound from the outside, their infrastructure is dilapidated, expensive to maintain and not worth the trouble of saving.

Gagnepain said it's when one walks inside the structures that the true nature of the problem becomes apparent. The water has been shut off due to old calcium-encrusted pipes. The brick walls, while beautiful from the outside, leak water that has seeped through the chipped, moldy plaster of the interior walls. Those same bricks also leak cold air in the winter, running the annual heating bills for the entire complex up around $200,000.

"The engineers said it would probably cost more to maintain these buildings than it would to tear them down and replace them with new ones," Gagnepain said. "It just doesn't make sense."

Caring for priests

Like Rozier, Gagnepain is a native of Perryville. In fact, he spent nine years at St. Mary's as a student before returning to take on the role of superior. This is his home, and it pains him to let go of such a vital part of its past. But he said it's vital that the Vincentians look to their future. Gagnepain said that when the students left in 1985, the prime directive of St. Mary's became caring for retired priests. That's the directive he and his fellow Vincentians are now following.

That's why the plan is to erect a 55,600-square-foot, single-story building at the south end of the St. Mary's quadrangle that stretches over land currently occupied by parts of the student building, the novitiate building and the old gymnasium and swimming pool, all of which will be demolished. The new $10 million, 30-unit retirement home for priests will replace the current home that stands at the north end of the quadrangle. The current home is 25 years removed from its last rehabilitation and suffering infrastructure problems of its own. It houses 25 retired priests, all of whom will be moved to the new building when construction is completed. At that time, the old retirement home building will be demolished as well.

Gagnepain said he doesn't see a feasible way for the buildings to accommodate the poor, and furthermore he said he doesn't see that need, at least not to an extent that would offset the expense of saving and renovating the two buildings. And as far a commitment to the community goes, Gagnepain said the construction of a new retirement home shows the Vincentians' commitment to Perryville.

"They could have put it in St. Louis, Chicago or Denver," Gagnepain said of the new home. Vincentians also operate in the other cities. "Instead they chose to stay here, where we came when we started, where we have our history."

Gagnepain said he and his staff are going to great lengths to salvage the historical elements within the two buildings, including two carved Carrara marble altars, stained glass windows, pews and statues from the two buildings' chapels. These will be incorporated into the new buildings design.

All the beds, desks, chairs and other furniture from the old buildings are being donated to not-for-profit organizations that help the poor.

Although the wheels bringing the new retirement home have already been set in motion, the plans drawn, the construction contract bid out, Rozier is intent on stopping them. He and his daughter, Carol Rozier, have worked tirelessly to enlist support from within the congregation and without. Letters pleading the Roziers' case have been mailed to the regional superior in Earth City, Mo., the superior general in Rome, even the pope at the Vatican. All have yet to respond. More discouraging, only one other member of the local community has spoken out in a letter to the editor of the Perry County Republic-Monitor.

"I am personally very disappointed in the congregation," Carol Rozier said. "This community is losing a treasure."

Meanwhile the Vincentians are moving forward with construction. Groundbreaking is planned for March 2005.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137