Burlington friary’s new owners hosting open house Oct. 21
BURLINGTON — The St. Francis Friary is inviting the public to learn more about the future of the historic religious site.
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, the Chicago-based Catholic group that purchased the 90-year-old complex for $3.5 million is hosting a free open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 21 that will include a tour the property.
The nonprofit institute plans to spend nearly $10 million renovating the former residential center for friars, and transforming it into a retreat facility for its members throughout the central United States.
Activities are expected to start by the end of 2024.
The Rev. Canon Matthew Talarico said the open house will allow visitors to meet members of his organization and to learn about the new Sacred Heart Retreat Center.
“All are welcome,” the group wrote in its announcement.
Located at 2457 Browns Lake Drive, the friary was built in 1931 by a Polish Catholic order of friars who moved from Pulaski, near Green Bay. A friary is similar to a monastery, except that monks generally live a reclusive lifestyle, while friars tend to be more outwardly engaged in a community.
The friary grew in popularity as a venue for weddings and other events. But as the friars aged, they found it difficult to maintain the grounds and decided to sell 146-acre property.
The friary is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The institute completed its purchase of about 100 acres in May, leaving 15 acres for the friars to maintain a place of residence and another parcel retained by private developer Bear Real Estate.
The new owners are soliciting donations to help fund their renovation plans.
Burlington’s St. Francis Friary history, in photos
St. Francis Friary
St. Francis Friary is shown here.
St. Francis Friary in Burlington 146-acre complex may be redeveloped
An aerial image provided by the Burlington Historical Society shows the St. Francis Friary residential compound surrounded by other structures and landmarks on a 146-acre property at 2457 Browns Lake Drive in Burlington.
2000
The St. Francis Retreat Center, Highway W, in the Town of Burlington, is shown here in May 2000.
Balloons for Franciscans
Fr. Sereno Baiardi, right, of the Franciscan Missions, Inc., in Waterford, inflates a balloon as other volunteers sell them for $1 to festival goers to the Harvest Festival Sunday, August 18, 1996, at the St. Francis Retreat Center in Burlington. Proceeds from the balloon sale go to fund missions around the world.
Running at the friary
An umbrella-carrying spectator watches as boys varsity runners stream past during their race at the Chocolate City Invitational Cross Country meet Saturday, Oct. 3, 1998, at the St. Francis Friary and Retreat Center in Burlington.
Running at the friary
Varsity boys run the course at St. Francis Seminary and Retreat during the Chocolate City Invitational cross country meet in Burlington on Oct. 2, 1999.
Grotto at St. Francis
A couple walks along a path in the grotto Sunday, July 6, 1997 at the St. Francis Retreat Center in Burlington.
Grotto at St. Francis
A shrine to the Virgin Mary in the Grotto is shown Sunday, July 6, 1997, at the St. Francis Retreat Center in Burlington.
A clown pastor
Pastor Steve Blyth of Zion Lutheran Church, 3805 Kinzie Ave., in Racine, helps the Franciscans gather donations for missions by offering balloons to festival goers for a donation at St. Francis Retreat Center’s 17th annual Harvest Festival Sunday, Aug. 16, 1998, near Burlington. Blyth ties a balloon on the wrist of Timothy Gray Jr., 2, while his mother Maria looks on.
Mass at the friary
Spanish-language Mass was offered weekly at St. Charles Catholic Church in Burlington as part of the outreach programs of the St. Francis Retreat Center in Burlington. This photo was originally published June 22, 1998.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Tammatha Jones unpacks her belongings in her new room at St. Francis Retreat Center on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. Jones’ family was forced to relocate from their homes in Slidell, Louisiana after floodwaters left their home uninhabitable following damage sustained by Hurricane Katrina. The family made St. Francis their temporary home.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Mary Jones looks through papers she has filed in an organizer. Jones’ family make the St. Francis Retreat Center their temporary home, after evacuating from Slidell, Louisiana following hurricane Katrina. Jones uses the organizer to keep family documentation together and to organize the family’s search for an apartment to live in Burlington.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Volunteers Mary Krumrey, left, and Charlotte Dyson, both of Burlington, make a bed Thursday morning, September 8, 2005, as they help get the St. Francis Center ready to receive evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. Close to 50 volunteers spent the day cleaning rooms and preparing the center.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Tammatha Jones meets with the Red Cross Disaster Services representative at St. Francis Retreat Center on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. Jones family was forced to relocate from their homes in Slidell, Louisiana after floodwaters left their home uninhabitable following damage sustained by Hurricane Katrina. The family made St. Francis their temporary home.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Cyndi Armstrong, of what was then known as the Western Racine County Health Department, takes the temperature of Scott Young. Armstrong gave medical screenings to Young, brother Sylvester Watkins and mother Tammatha Jones as the family arrived at the St. Francis Retreat Center on Sept. 21, 2005. The family was forced to relocate from their home in Slidell, Louisiana, after floodwaters left their home uninhabitable following damage sustained by Hurricane Katrina. The family made St. Francis its temporary home.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Volunteer Molly Ellingstad of Burlington, vacuums a room Thursday morning, September 8, 2005, as she helps get the St. Francis Center ready to receive evacuees. Close to 50 volunteers spent the day cleaning rooms and preparing the center.
Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington
Mary Jones folds laundry Wednesday, September 28, 2005, as her mother Louise Brianer watches in the laundry room at St. Francis Center in Burlington. The family evacuated to Burlington after their home is Slidell, La., was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Rev. Jerry Zawada
Rev. Jerry Zawada, pictured in 2004 at age 66, a Franciscan priest based at the St. Francis Monastery near Burlington, is preparing to surrender to serve at least six months in a federal prison after being found guilty for trespassing during a November protest demanding the closing of the Army’s School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga. Photographed on February 3, 2004. Zawada died in 2017.
A Franciscan crafter
Brother Mike Kulan works on a miniature pine carousel horse in his workshop at the St. francis Friary and Retreat Center in Burlington. He opened the Franciscan Crafters Shop to raise money to help the needy. This photo was originally published Feb. 13, 1995.
Supporting St. Francis
Spectators walk past hand-carved Franciscan religious iconography in the Franciscan Mission Hut during Franciscan Harvest Festival on Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004, at the St. Francis Center in Burlington. Proceeds from sales went to support the work of the Franciscans internationally.
2002
Ralph Tenhagen walks through the tree lined entrance to the St. Francis Retreat Center Tuesday afternoon, May 7, 2002, after the Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary Province decided to close the landmark center located off Highway W near Highway 36 in the Town of Burlington.
2011
Brother Mike Kulan, who has been the St. Francis Friary property manager, had been working to put the building back into use in the summer of 2011. Behind him is an ornately carved doorway to the cafeteria in the 1930 part of the building. This photo was originally published Thursday June 2, 2011.
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