Our Ignatian Directed Retreat will be privileged time for you to deepen your relationship with God. You will be assigned a trained spiritual director with whom you will meet briefly each day to discern the movements of God in your life as revealed through your prayer.
The “direction” of directed retreats is that of discovering and exploring your own journey in faith and life and what path better helps you go in the direction you seek and Jesus invites. Embedded in the tradition of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, your retreat is made with a retreat director-a person who supports, listens, and has made the journey before. For those who are able, daily walks with Ignatian teachings will also be available. Aside from these daily conversations and the time you set aside for your own personal prayer, your time is unstructured. Daily Mass will also be available.
This is a silent retreat. Check-in begins at 4pm, a welcome session will be held at 5pm and the retreat will begin after dinner. Guided by Paul Gallagher, Fr. Patrick Bergquist, Nancy Bickel and Dee Papania (plus one additional director, TBD).
Upon registration, please indicate your preference for spiritual director under the ‘special needs’ section of the form.
Paul Gallagher, D.Min. is a longtime faith formation leader in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Paul used the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius to get his own health back on track and looks forward to helping you with your own transformation. Paul received his doctorate at Catholic University of America, focusing on the positive effects Ignatian Spirituality can have on a person’s health and well-being. His blog, www.makingallthingsnew.com, has been viewed by thousands of people all over the world, and through his retreats, blog posts and spiritual direction, he looks to help people transform their lives by integrating Ignatian practices into their daily routines.
Fr. Patrick Bergquist, M.Div, spent nearly 20 years as a missionary along the Yukon River in Nothern Alaska and he turned to explore a wilderness far less chartered, that of the human spirit and soul. A diocesan priest of Fairbanks, he hold a Master of Divinity degree from Sr. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and two Certificates in Spiritual Direction, from the Heychia School in Tucson, Arizona, and the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in Chicago. where he specialized in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Additionally, he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He’s a poet, a spiritual memoirist, and the author of The Long Dark Winter’s Night: Reflections of a Priest in a Time of Pain and Privilege, as well as various articles in publications such as Spiritual Life and American Magazine.
Dr. Dee Papania began her career in professional ministry over 22 years ago and continues to serve at St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church in Woodstock, MD. Previously filling roles as Pastoral Associate, Director of Faith Formation, Director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, and Coordinator for the parish’s Retreat Directors Team, in September 2018 she was appointed Parish Life Director by Archbishop Lori. Her academic accomplishments include a BA in Religious Studies, MA in Theology, MS in Church Management, and Doctor of Ministry Degrees. She is a trained Spiritual Director in the tradition of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. She has completed formation through the Jesuit/Lay Collaborative (now called the Office of Ignatian Spirituality) and also has taught in the Archdiocesan Equip for Ministry Program.