The historic building, which was once a convent, is located at the corner of Waterman and Highland Avenues within the boundaries of the St. Bernardine Medical Center complex in San Bernardino.
Deacon John Barna, Director of the Office of Catholic Cemeteries, was overjoyed by the added space he would have by moving to the Rezek Centre.
“It’s exciting to be a part of a new community created by the move,” Deacon Barna said. “With the new extra space, I’m looking forward to growing the ministry.”
The offices were chosen partly because of the limited amount of traffic they received at the Diocesan Pastoral Center from the general public on a day-to-day basis. This was done so the public they serve would not be inconvenienced, Sr. Kane said.
The departure of the offices will help alleviate some of the office space and meeting space challenges at the Pastoral Center. At 55,000 square feet, the Pastoral Center building has seen an expansion of offices and personnel over the years, leaving less room for meeting space.
Offices which are currently located in rooms that were once used for meetings will later be relocated to the vacancies being left by the four offices that moved to the Rezek Centre. Plans are being made to convert the soon-to-be-vacant offices back to additional meeting rooms. At time of publication no project completion date was available.
“Some of the offices need to be renovated,” said Raquel Ortega, Facilities Coordinator for the Pastoral Center. “It is going to be a process.”
Once the four offices have finished moving in to the Rezek Center, Bishop Gerald Barnes will hold a blessing ceremony to bless the new office space and welcome the personnel to their new home.