Founded by Austin Ripley in 1956, Guest House is the original provider of residential addiction treatment for Catholic clergy and religious.
In the 1940’s, Austin Ripley saw a tragedy unfolding among the people in recovery. A recovering alcoholic himself, Ripley observed that Catholic priests weren’t succeeding like laymen in overcoming their addictions. This was because of the totally uninformed and often-punitive treatment he saw being given to alcoholic Catholic priests—often confinement where treatment was largely prayer and penitence.
Ripley decided to devote himself to the creation of a treatment program that respected not only the religious calling of priests and religious, but also their dignity as human beings who are prone to addictive diseases just like anyone else.
Through many years of trials and tribulations, finally in 1956, Ripley opened Guest House in Lake Orion, Michigan. Over the next decade, with Ripley as director, Guest House flourished. Today, Guest House stands as the premier treatment center for Catholic clergy and religious suffering chemically-based addictions, such as alcoholism. The goal of Guest House, once in recovery, is to return those in treatment to their ministries. On average 85 percent of those treated remain in recovery.
Our mission is to provide the information, education, treatment and care needed to assure that Catholic clergy, men and women religious, and seminarians suffering from alcoholism, addictions, and other behavioral health conditions have the best opportunity for quality recovery and overall health and wellness.
