Construction underway at Resurrection Parish

Anyone driving down 11th Avenue may have noticed the ongoing construction at Resurrection Parish, a Catholic Church just off campus. The construction comes as the church begins preparing for the arrival of a second priest. 

The renovations started this past August and are expected to be finished in August 2026. According to Dan Wetstein, a parish volunteer, the expansion will include a new rectory for the priests to live in and upgrades to the current parish hall. The new second floor will be a student center with lounges and meeting rooms. 

The Parish Finance Council began conversations about additions and refurbishments in 2021 when they were informed that a second priest would be joining the church, according to Wetstein. 

Wetstein said that at the time of the announcement, Resurrection’s priest was living off campus near the Gallatin Crossing Mall. 

“People immediately recognized that this was going to be problematic because our existing parish housing for our priest is pretty limited,” he said.   

According to Travis Russell, the director of engagement for Resurrection Parish, having the priest on the premises makes them more accessible to parishioners.

“At the heart of everything in the Catholic Church is the sacraments, and the sacraments are offered by the priest,” he said. “Being able to have the priest on the premises, [allows him] to be more accessible to everyone — the parishioners, but also the students.”

Wetstein said that once members of the finance council began looking into adding housing for priests, they realized other refurbishments and additions were needed.

“We’ve been really restricted over the last several years in what we can offer up for meeting times,” Wetstein said. “The parish hall and all the rooms were in constant use, so [the additions] will give us far more flexibility.”

The renovations will give students in Cat Catholic — the student organization based at the church — more space to meet, according to the Coordinator for the Campus Ministry Monica Elsinger. 

“I’m very much about helping all the different entities communicate and build and bond,” she said. “I’m looking forward to small group rooms for Bible studies to come together and have uninterrupted study [so] they don’t have to meet around the one tall table in the kitchen that’s very tight.”

Elsinger said this connection with students helps Resurrection grow the catholic faith and empower parishioners to foster a deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ. 

“We want to encourage and help [students] to discover how to think, rather than what to think,” she said. “[We want them] to be aware of the beauty and truth and the goodness our faith stands on.”

According to Russell, these new spaces will also create more opportunities for events and programs to engage MSU students.

“Having this new space will allow us to go out and invite more students to come and join in the different activities that we offer,” he said. “Having it be right next to MSU’s campus is such a great opportunity to be able to invite students into that community.”

Russell said renovations will give students and parishioners space to come together and grow their faith while deepening the sense of community at the parish. 

“Students can feel like they can kind of come and find a reprieve from perhaps some of the everyday stressors of life in school,” he said. 

For more information about Resurrection Parish, visit https://www.resurrectionbozeman.org/.