Parishioner Profiles: Monsignor Dorney shows us Porta Caeli House

Parishioner Mary Martinovich has great taste. She made many of the interior design choices that make Tulsa’s Porta Caeli House feel like home.

Porta Caeli House is a community-supported palliative care home. Residents moving in find a comfortable, cheerful place where they can live the rest of their days. The hallways are well-lit and full of employees and volunteers serving the residents.

Mary Martinovich teamed up with Mary Haddican (a Saint Mary parishioner) and Shirah Grant. The team outfitted the building with rich wood trim and a peaceful blue. Crucifixes, candles, artwork, and cozy furniture complete the decor.

Monsignor Dennis Dorney spends every Friday morning at Porta Caeli, welcoming all who enter.

He described the lobby’s fireplace, “We wanted to give the impression that this is a home, rather than a nursing home or a skilled nursing center. The decor throughout was chosen with that in mind. The furniture, the artwork, and the colors in the rooms was chosen to make sure that it looks like a home rather than an institution.”

“The dining room was put here for the families of the guests who are here. Oftentimes there are volunteers who bring in meals for anyone who is here. There is a kitchen where if some wanted to, they could make a meal to share. Again, they worked to make this area look like a home, rather than a cafeteria.”

 

 

Describing the Chapel, he said, “A lot of the fixtures in the chapel were donated when they tore down Our Lady of Sorrows Convent in Broken Arrow. Sister wanted to make sure that all of the chapel there could be used in different places in the diocese. We have one of the altars, some stained glass, and some pews from that chapel.

 

 

 

The related video shows Monsignor Dorney’s complete tour of Porta Caeli House and includes time with Catholic Charities Executive Director Deacon Kevin Sartorius and Porta Caeli Executive Director Gary Highberger.