Charles Crane/MDN Father David Richter stands outside the new rectory at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Minot on Friday, which completed construction in July.

This past July marked the eighth year Father David Richter has been the parish priest at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church. The anniversary was marked by the completion of a new parish rectory.

The new rectory, a residence for a priest or minister, is located a hop, skip and a jump away from the church and was a long awaited addition for the parish, as the congregation had previously utilized a nearby family home.

“It was built as a family home, and it doesn’t really work if you plan to have more than one priest and to make the space appropriate. Back in the ’60s, what was required of a home is different from what it is now, for privacy and what not,” Richter said. “A rectory has more space for three or four priests than a family having eight or ten kids. The reason is it’s more like friends that live together or like a dorm or apartment complex, so that each priest could have his own privacy and space.”

The project broke ground on July 25, 2023 – the 62nd anniversary of the parish’s founding – and Richter began moving in on July 4 this year. The new rectory includes three separate suites and a fourth bedroom, in addition to communal spaces and a private chapel. Additional amenities include a patio and furnishings provided by a local furniture business.

“We got it done in just over 11 months, so it went a little quicker. It was pretty much what we aimed at,” Richter said. “It’s great. It’s what I was hoping and anticipating that we would do. And I think it turned out better than our imagination was.”

Richter said at the parish’s founding, the plan was to have a school and convent in addition to a rectory, but plans shifted when the sisters decided to run the school. Instead, the school building was repurposed into the parish’s church, and the planned rectory would go unrealized. While the conversation had been ongoing ever since Richter took over as St. John’s priest, the timing of a generous donation and the COVID-19 pandemic stirred the parish to move forward with the construction.

“We saw COVID, and everything going up, so we were anticipating a smaller expense when we started, but you got to deal with what you have,” Richter said. “It turned out good. It’s not without its hiccups and what not, but in the end, I’m really pleased.”

The new rectory project was joined with a capital campaign to complete a number of updates to the church’s technology to add more accessibility and electrical facilities to increase efficiency, along with repairs and other quality of life improvements. While the donation covered a majority of the expense for the rectory, Richter felt it was important to broaden the scope to give the parishioners investment and collective ownership of the new structure.

“Going through it and getting through it now is nice, ’cause it’s hard to change and takes work to do it. But once you do it, there’s a benefit. It’s not my house. It’s St. John’s,” Richter said. “It belongs to the people who established it, their descendents and the members of the parish.”

Richter and retired priest Father Patrick Cunningham are the current residents of the new rectory, and Richter said he would welcome further additions in the future now that the extra space is available.

“It’s good to have somebody. I grew up with nine brothers and four sisters, so living alone is an oddity. It’s nice to have someone to talk to,” Richter said. “It gives flexibility. Whatever we do, it’s not for our own benefit, it’s for the good of the people of the parish, and to be able to have that and do those things makes it easier. It benefits the parish.”