The Jesuit Spirituality Center

at St. Charles College

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Individually-Directed Retreats

Admission Policy as of 4/17/2023
Retreatants at the Jesuit Spirituality Center are no longer required to have a Covid vaccination and booster. However, out of concern for our infirm and elder Jesuits, we ask retreatants to monitor their symptoms both before and during your retreat. The Spirituality Center will gladly reschedule your retreat at a future date and your deposit will be transferred to the new date. To those who have not been able to attend, we welcome you back.

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Three, Five, and Eight-Day Directed Retreats

A directed retreat is a personally guided prayer experience in which the retreatant follows the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius while listening for God’s personal word spoken through the Sacred Scriptures. Each retreatant is assigned a director with whom the retreatant meets daily for reflection and spiritual discernment. Retreatants may request specific directors, although it may not be possible to comply with these requests. Nonetheless, each retreatant must have a director in order to get the most out of his/her spiritual experience.

There are usually two 8-day periods set aside each month for individuals who wish to make a directed retreat of 3, 5, or 8 full days. The number of days of a retreat is counted as full days, excluding the day of arrival and the day of departure. Retreats begin with supper at 6:00 p.m. on the day of arrival and end with breakfast on the last day. PLEASE arrive between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m.

Arrival & Departure Dates Example
If you were interested in a 5 day retreat starting on Monday, July 8th, 2019, you would arrive on Monday, July 8th between 4 and 5:30. Your retreat would start that evening after the evening meal. You would then have five full days of retreat (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th) and then you would leave after breakfast on Sunday, July 14th. If you instead wanted to start your 5 day retreat on Thursday, July 11th, you would arrive on July 11th between 4 and 5:30. Your retreat would start that evening after the evening meal. You would then have five full days of retreat (12th, 13th, 14th, 15th & 16th) and then you would leave after breakfast on Wednesday, July 17th. An 8 day retreat has to begin on the first of the two dates offered.

In addition to these, three 32-day periods each year are set aside for those who wish to make the full Exercises. All these scheduled retreats are individually directed by staff members.

SILENCE, both interior and exterior, is a necessary condition for the efficacy of a directed retreat.

The experience of the Spirituality Center Staff has suggested that retreatants have a better retreat experience if all retreatants begin their retreat together, with an introductory session and prayer service. Therefore, we ask all retreatants to begin the retreat on either of two dates indicated for each retreat period listed below. Three and five day retreats can begin on either of the two dates, while 8-Day retreats must begin on the first day listed.

What’s Provided and What You Should Bring:
We provide all bath and bed linens. Please bring casual, comfortable clothing. Our climate is generally mild, but you should be prepared for cold weather in winter and hot, humid weather in summer. You may bring needlework, water colors or other handwork that you find relaxing and helpful. Also, please bring your own water drinking container as we are following Pope Francis’s call to reduce our waste footprint by eliminating plastic water bottles at our facility. You will need a notebook. Other books/tapes, etc., are unnecessary and could be distracting. Your family, friends, and associates should refrain from writing or calling you during the retreat. Messages of a serious or emergency nature will be passed on to you as soon as possible. Washing machines and dryers are available. Please let us know in advance if you have special dietary requirements or need handicap accessible accommodations.

For more retreat details, please also go to “About” and then “General Info”.

Thirty-Day Directed Retreats

An experienced director guides the retreatant through the complete program of “spiritual exercises” that St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, formulated as the fruit of his own conversion experience and intended as a way to come to spiritual freedom and maturity. The thirty-day retreat begins with a day of preparation and ends with a day of reflection and discussion. Thus, it involves 32 full days.

Please print, complete and submit the special application and instructions form to make this retreat. Even though the application provides space for credit card information for the deposit, please do not complete that section and email it back to us in an unsecured format. You can either fax the form back to us at 337-662-3187 or leave that section blank and pay your deposit on our website through the “Registration” feature. Applications must be submitted at least a month prior to the retreat date itself.

30-Day Retreat Application (English)
Retiro Dirigido de 30 Días (Spanish)

Fee: $3,500
Deposit: $75 (non-refundable)

Thirty-day retreats begin with supper at 6:00 p.m. on the day of arrival (first day noted on the schedule) and end with breakfast on the last day. Please arrive between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m.

February 20 to March 22, 2024
May 14 to June 14, 2024
Sept 3 to Oct 4, 2024

2023

Retreats of 8-days begin on the first date.
Retreats of 5 or 3 days begin on either date.

( * denotes availability of 8-day retreat)

October 2-8 (3 and 5 day only)
*October 17-26 (10/17 or 10/20) WAITING LIST CURRENTLY
October 31-November 6 (3 and 5 day only) WAITING LIST
November 15-19 (3 day only) WAITING LIST CURRENTLY
*December 5-14 (arrive 12/5 or 12/8) WAITING LIST CURRENTLY

2024

Retreats of 8-days begin on the first date.
Retreats of 3 or 5 days begin on either date.

Wed Jan.17—3 & 5 days only
Tues Jan 30 or Fri Feb. 2
Tues Feb 20 or Fri Jan. 23
Tues Mar 4 or Thurs Mar.7
Mon Apr 8 or Thurs Apr 11
Tues Apr 23 or Fri Apr 26
Tues May 14 or Fri May 17
Tues May 28 or Fri May 31
Mon June 10—3 & 5 days only
Tues June 18 or Fri June21
Tues July 9 or Fri July 12
Tues July 23—3 & 5 days only
Thurs Aug. 1 —3 & 5 days only
Mon Aug 19 or Thurs Aug 22
Tues Sep 3 or Fri Sept 6
Mon Sept 16 or Thurs Sept 19
Mon Sept 30 —3 & 5 days only
Tues Oct 15 or Fri Oct 18
Mon Oct 28 or Thurs Oct 31
Tues Nov. 12 —3 & 5 days only
Mon Dec. 2 or Thurs Dec. 5

Jesuit Discernment Retreats

The Jesuit Vocation Office for the USA Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus sponsors annually two Discernment Retreats for those considering a vocation to the Society: mid-December and early January. Part of the time is spent with Jesuit novices who are studying here at St. Charles College, and the remainder of the time is spent with a Jesuit director in a silent, individually directed retreat.

If you have been giving some thought to a possible vocation to the Jesuits, you are invited to consider participating in one of these retreats. The retreats are provided free of charge. While it is presumed that participants will cover the cost of their travel, there are funds for those who would need assistance.

In addition, the Jesuit Vocation Office also hosts two Come & See weekends during the school year:

* Late September / early October (St. Louis)

* February (Kansas City).

If you would like to participate in a Jesuit Discernment retreat, please contact the Jesuit Spirituality Center and we will put you in touch with the appropriate person.

Thank you for your interest in the Jesuits!

Suggested Retreat Fees

We accept cash, check, MasterCard, Visa or Discover.

Insufficient funds should not keep anyone from making a directed retreat. A retreatant who cannot afford the published fee may apply to the Director for a reduction, a waiver, or an extension of time for payment.

Priests and Religious are invited to request a reduced fee if the fee is a hardship for them.

A non-refundable deposit of $75 is required.

Please note that reservations are not taken by phone. Reservations can be made by mail by including a check or your credit card information for the deposit, by fax (with credit card info on registration form), or, you can register online with a credit card to pay the deposit. This should be done as early as possible as some retreats fill quickly. A registration form for making a reservation by mail or fax is included on the last page of our brochure or it can be printed from our website in the “Registration” link. A RETREAT OR SPECIAL PROGRAM WILL NOT BE CONFIRMED UNTIL THE RESERVATION FORM WITH THE PROPER DEPOSIT IS RECEIVED. After receiving your registration form and deposit, you will receive a confirmation which will list articles that you should bring with you for the retreat or program.

Three-Day Retreat Fee: $285 ($330 for 2024)
Five-Day Retreat Fee: $475 ($550 for 2024)
Eight-Day Retreat Fee: $710 ($815 for 2024)
30-Day Retreat Fee: $3,500

Spiritual Direction

Ongoing spiritual direction may be arranged with members of the Center’s staff, usually as a follow-up to an individually directed retreat. A fee of $45 per visit is recommended.

The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life

The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life is an adaptation of the thirty-day experience. The retreatant remains at home, prays for an hour or so daily, records the graces of prayer in a journal, and meets with a director at the Center once a week for six to eight months. A fee of $45 per visit is recommended.