Holy Rosary fills need with new retreat center

When the coronavirus pandemic grounded seemingly an entire planet, not immune from the carnage was the closing of Catholic retreat centers. 

For many Catholics, retreats are a highlight of their year, spending time in what is traditionally a peaceful and serene setting, a time when electronic devices are silenced to better focus on spending alone time with God without external distractions.

A fallout of the pandemic is that retreat options in the Diocese of Baton Rouge have become limited, especially with the shuttering of the Bishop Robert E. Tracy Center on the campus of the Catholic Life Center and Rosaryville Spirit Life Center in Ponchatoula. The lone center in the diocese is Manresa House of Retreats in Convent, which traditionally caters to men. 

Father Joshua Johnson, then pastor at Holy Rosary Church in St. Amant, recognized the void and, surprising even his own staff with a novel idea to meet the need.

“Last fall, when we started coming back to Mass, Father Josh called and said, ‘You want to open a retreat center at Holy Rosary?’ ” said Wendy Enloe, director of Adult Faith Formation at Holy Rosary. “I said sure.”

Three areas were available to serve as retreat rooms and by late February, and with little renovation required, the center had opened its doors. 

One of the rooms is in the old rectory, that until the flood of 2016 had served as the pastor’s living quarters. It includes a living room with a separate bedroom area.

The other two retreat rooms are located in a duplex adjacent to what is now a gift store and Full of Grace Cafe. The upstairs is a small apartment where Father Johnson lived until a new rectory was completed following the flood, and the downstairs was an area originally targeted for another purpose but mothballed because of the pandemic.

“It was easy to transition into the retreat center,” Enloe said, adding retreats are individually directed, not preached, as is more traditional. 

Although Enloe leads the majority of the retreats, individuals do have the option to have their own spiritual directors. She meets with retreatants daily for about 45 minutes to one hour, assigning that person Scripture to pray with as well as meditation from the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. 

“Really, it’s listening to their stories and where God is moving them in their lives,” said Enloe, who served as Holy Rosary’s director of religious education before moving into her current position. 

“It is a very individual retreat catered to where they are and what God is doing in their lives,” she added. “It is more similar to ongoing spiritual direction, giving them things to pray with.”

The next day she follows up with discussions about what was prayed and what came up in the retreatant’s prayers. 

“The Lord often brings things in their lives they may need to deal with that they might not be aware of, that may need healing,” she said. “Things they need to talk to God about. When they come on retreat it’s kind of a safe place to pause and really deal with those things.”

Approximately 12 people have come through the center since March, the majority from the diocese and all women.

 “I think there is definitely a gap in (local) retreat opportunities,” she said.

Enloe emphasized retreats are a time for individuals to stop and reflect and care for their own spirituality, noting that without doing so burnout is likely. 

“It’s important to pay attention to what God is doing in our lives,” Enloe said. “And to be able to step back and listen. 

“Retreat is a time where we can foster different prayer methods and different ways of relating to God that we can bring into our everyday lives.”

The retreats are Sunday through Thursday. The cost is $350 for a single room or $400 for two people. Breakfast and lunch are provided, and retreatants are on their own for dinner.

However, dinner is available on Tuesday night at the Full of Grace Café at Holy Rosary, which also prepares meals for the needy in the St. Amant area.

Mass is usually celebrated daily, and the retreatant also has access to the adoration chapel and the serenity of the Holy Rosary campus. 

“Retreats are good because it rejuvenates you and brings up things that you need to be grateful for and allows one to see the ways God is working in their life,” Enloe said.

For more information or to schedule a retreat, call 225-647-5321.