June 24, 2025 – New York – Catholic Faith Network (CFN) features representatives of The Leo House in a special interview broadcast across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and nationwide via select cable and satellite systems. 

Michael Coneys, President of The Leo House, and Ashley Bryant, Executive Director, join Father Gerard Gentleman from Catholic Faith Network. This segment highlights the mission, history, and hospitality of The Leo House. During the segment, they discuss how The Leo House provides a peaceful place to stay in the heart of New York City. It is highlighted that The Leo House welcomes all travelers of all religions from around the world with open arms.

The appearance on CFN offers a deeper look into the Catholic values that inspire The Leo House. They also discuss the charitable programs made possible through generous support from donors and the surrounding community.

The Leo House is thrilled to share their story with CFN’s audience. They invite everyone to tune in to learn more about our mission of service and hospitality.

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – New York City averages about 60 million tourists annually and in the city that never sleeps, the hustle and bustle of walking and traveling around can be exhausting. Even for the most seasoned traveler, one has to rest some time. And what better place to lay your head at the end of a hectic day than at The Leo House located in the heart of New York City? 

And joining us in the studio today are Michael Coneys, President and Chairman, and Ashley Bryant, who is the Executive Director of The Leo House. Thank you so much both of you. 

As I was saying, I had no idea that this place existed. Let’s start by explaining the difference between a guest house and a hotel. There are lots of hotels in New York City, but what is a guest house?

Michael Coneys – We can call ourselves a hotel and we sometimes do, depending upon what the purpose is. We’re actually a bed and breakfast but we choose the softer name of guest house. The building we’re in now was built in 1926. We’re getting ready to celebrate our centennial in the building. It’s basically like a European model where 30 to 40% of our rooms have a water closet in them, but you take your shower or your bath down the hall. There’s three to four bathrooms in every hallway. 

Then the rest of the rooms are private as we’ve been modernizing the building over the years so they do have full bathrooms. Most Americans like to have the full bathrooms. But, about 60% of our guests are coming from outside the U.S. 

Ashley Bryant – Yes, our big countries are the UK, Germany, France, and actually during the summer Australia and New Zealand because that is their winter time. 

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – So is it comparable to as far as affordability to other hotels in New York City?

Michael Coneys – We’re much less expensive. We also have four different charity programs. We start with our hospital and nursing home visitors hospitality program where if you’re coming to New York, or say you live in the Bronx and you have an auntie who’s in a nursing home in Manhattan, you can come and stay with us for $99 a night and that includes breakfast.. 

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – Oh that’s great. 

Michael Coneys – Then we have our clergy and religious discount program where if you’re a member of any denomination of clergy, you stay with us for $94 a night. Then we have our Heroes Hospitality Program which is 30% off all published rates for active military, first responders, fire fighters, police, national guard…

Ashley Bryant – Yes and we also accept from other countries as long as they have the proper documentations because we owe them a lot.

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – What are some unique features of your guest house?

Michael Coneys – Since 1889 we’ve had the Congregation of St. Agnes with us, we have a convent, we have two sisters of St. Agnes, Sister Pat Hayes and Sister Marilyn Ellickson. Sister Marilyn is our Director of Fundraising and she has been working with us for a very long time. We have Father Ed Conway who is our chaplain who lives onsite. We have a beautiful chapel which Cardinal Dolan rededicated a few years back, we have regular mass three days a week. When we have visiting priests, we encourage them to say mass and in that case we may have mass 5, 6, or 7 days a week. 

Michael Coneys – We have a full dining room in which we serve a full hot breakfast everyday except Sunday. Then we have a lovely back garden behind the 1870’s townhouse, which is very unusual. We are going to give our mission partner award to our landscape gardener, Declan, who has been doing so for free for many years. When we have people who give us in-kind services for free or well below market rate we like to have a celebration for them.

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – So your name comes from Pope Leo, not the 14th, but Leo the 13th, is that correct?

Michael Coneys – Yes [we’re named after] Leo the 13th, who actually commissioned our existence. To make a long story short, Peter Paul Cahensly was the founder of the St. Raphael Society, which was put together to help poor and working class people in Europe forward the many borders before the EU came in.

Pope Leo the 13th was very popular among German Catholics in the U.S. because after the victory of Sudan and the consolidation of the second empire in Germany under the Kaiser Wilhelm, the Prussians came to rule everything. And the Catholic church suffered terribly and ceased for a very long period of time to have sovereign status.. Leo the 13th, was in a terrible position, and had to go around on bended knee all around Europe with all these countries refusing to recognize him either as Pope initially, or that he was a sovereign entity. So the German Catholics got together, they took a subscription and got to $50,000 and presented it to them. He gave it back to them and he said he wanted them to build a place in New York where Germans can be welcome so they built the first Leo House down on State Street.

Two world wars and the decline of Germany immigration changed the mission of The Leo House. You don’t have to be Catholic to stay at The Leo House. We welcome everybody. Even among clergy, we have Rabbis, Imams, we have everybody. 

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – It reminds me of the words of Dorothy Day where she quoted from the Letter of Hebrews that you’re “entertaining angels.”

Michael Coneys – We also have our fourth charity program, where we most recently had a little boy from West Africa named Ishmael. He’s still at Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. With Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, where we’re one of the 93 agencies, we put together a chain for this little boy and his mother to get to New York. We got him here so he could have procedures and diagnosis at NYU Langone Medical Center. He stayed with us for three weeks for free to get help for a medical condition. And that’s what we love to do, help people.

Father Gerard Gentleman (CFN) – So it’s more than a great place to stay, It’s a part of the mission of the church, and we’re so grateful that you would come out here to Long Island and share a bit of your story. Michael and Ashley, thank you so much for being with us today. 

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