Individually-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.

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 retreatants must begin on the first date listed.

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

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: $2,200 in 2018,  $2,250 in 2019
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.

Mon., Sep. 17 to Sat., Oct. 20, 2018

Mon., Mar. 11 to Sat., Apr. 13, 2019
Mon., Jun. 10 to Sat., Jul. 13, 2019
Mon., Oct. 7 to Sat., Nov. 9, 2019

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

Fri., July 6  (3 & 5 days only)  (waiting list currently)
Mon., July 16 or Thu., July 19  (waiting list currently)
Wed., Aug. 1—3 & 5 days only  (waiting list currently)
Mon., Aug. 20 or Thu., Aug. 23  (waiting list currently)
Tue., Sep. 4 or Fri., Sep. 7
Mon., Sep. 17 or Thu., Sep. 20
Mon., Oct. 1 or Thu., Oct. 4
Mon., Oct 15 or Thu., Oct 18
Mon., Oct 29 or Thu., Nov. 1
Mon., Nov. 12 —3 & 5 days only
Tue., Dec. 4 —3 & 5 days only

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

Tue., Jan. 22 or Fri., Jan. 25
Mon., Feb. 11 or Thu., Feb. 14
Mon., Feb 25—3 & 5 days only
Mon., Mar. 11 or Thu., Mar. 14
Mon., Mar. 25 or Thu., Mar. 28
Mon., Apr. 8 or Thu., Apr. 11
Mon., Apr. 29 or Thu., May 2
Mon., May 13 or Thu., May 16
Mon., May 27 or Thu., May 30
Mon., June 17 or Thu., June 20
Mon., July 8 or Thu., July 11
Mon., July 22 or Thu., July 25
Fri., Aug. 2—3 & 5 days only
Mon., Aug. 19 or Thu., Aug. 22
Tue., Sep. 3 or Fri., Sep. 6
Mon., Sep. 16 or Thu., Sep. 19
Mon., Sep. 30 or Thu., Oct. 3
Mon., Oct. 14 or Thu., Oct. 17
Mon., Oct. 28 or Thu., Oct. 31
Mon., Nov. 11 —3 & 5 days only
Mon., Dec. 2 or Thu., Dec. 5

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 one of these events, please contact Fr. Randy Gibbens, S.J., Coordinator of Vocation Promotion, by email:

*  UCSVocationCoordinator@jesuits.org

Thank you for your interest in the Jesuits!

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: $240 in 2018,   $260 in 2019
Five-Day Retreat Fee: $375 in 2018,   $400 in 2019
Eight-Day Retreat Fee: $560 in 2018,   $580 in 2019
30-Day Retreat Fee: $2,200 in 2018,   $2,250 in 2019

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 $35 per visit is recommended (2018) & $40 per visit in 2019.

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 $35 per visit (2018) is recommended and $40 per visit in 2019.