Unexpected Turns: The Conversions of St. Ignatius Loyola
An Ignatian, Silent Weekend Retreat for Men
March 8 - 10, 2024
Groups Attending: Individuals, St. Isaac Jogues (Hinsdale), Walsh Jesuit High School Alumni, St. Ignatius College Prep Parents and Alumni, Deacon Bill Burns (K of C in Chicago), St. John's Jesuit High School (Toledo, OH) Alumni, St. Catherine of Siena K of C Council # 8596 (West Dundee, IL)
This retreat is currently at capacity or registration is closed. Please call the office at 847.381.1261 with questions.
Summary
Against the background of his Spiritual Exercises, we will explore the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, focusing on a series of “conversions” where life as he expected it took different turns. These turns all required him to adapt to where God seemed to be leading him—just as the twists and turns in our own lives force us to reflect on and adapt to where God is calling us. As for St. Ignatius, so for us: God writes straight with sometimes very crooked lines! The retreat will likewise introduce the retreatants to a variety of ways of praying.
Description
This retreat includes several presentations, daily mass, 6 meals, the opportunity for one-on-one spiritual direction with a trained spiritual director, and many other opportunities to explore our 80 acres and almost 60k square feet of interior space. All activities are optional, but we do ask everyone to respect the quiet of the retreat house for everyone to have the opportunity to read, sleep and reflect in the quiet.
Bellarmine has two libraries, a resource center, two chapels, and many other common areas. Outdoor spaces include a various walking trails, various prayer gardens, a gazebo, stations of the cross, as well as a few patios and outdoor chairs and benches. Each retreatant has their own bedroom.
You can learn more about what to expect by visiting this page.
Video Promotion
Retreat Experience Gallery
Bellarmine Main Entrance
Sacred Heart Chapel
Mary McKeon Library
St. Joseph Gazebo
Mother Teresa Garden
Eastern Africa Collection
Fireplace Lounge
Dining Room
Winter on the Grounds
Resource Center
Sacred Heart Statue at Sunset
Susie's Memorial Garden
Madonna Library
Lower Level Lounge
Retreat Leader
Fr. Michael J. Graham, SJ
A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Fr. Michael Graham, SJ holds degrees from Cornell College, the University of Michigan and the Weston School of Theology (now, the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). He entered the Jesuits in 1978 and was ordained in 1988.
Fr. Graham was Xavier University's President from January 1, 2001 to June 30, 2021. Fr. Graham’s passion for the specifically Jesuit mission of Xavier animated his presidency in multiple ways. He collaborated with a variety of professionals in the area of Jesuit Mission and Identity to shape and support work to share Xavier’s Jesuit ethos and heart with faculty, staff and students in such a way that its approach to that work is generally regarded as best-in-class. He helped found a campus center for dialogue that became a crucial hub for inter-religious conversation in the Cincinnati region, and whose work engaged a wide variety of constituencies and topics in areas of justice, sustainability, immigration and more. He likewise championed diversity, inclusion and equity efforts on and off the campus and helped recruit transformative leadership to embed that work firmly within the fabric of the University.
In his retirement, Fr. Graham looks forward to expanded opportunities for pastoral ministry, especially through various retreats at the Midwest Jesuit Province network of retreat houses, and to assisting Jesuit university trustees and senior executives understand better the Jesuit mission and identity of their schools so as to lead them more effectively and in fidelity to their origins. And, of course, he’ll keep his eyes and ears open for whatever ideas for his future his Provincial Superior may suggest.